November 5, 2007

Where is the Democrats’ Post-Bush Vision?

 

The president and his fellow Republicans are doing very badly. Hooray for the Democrats! Finally, they have a chance to lead the country once again.

 

Not so fast!

 

There’s a joke about two guys, McGeegy and McGeggy, who were at each other’s throats all their lives. They competed ruthlessly in business. McGeegy even married McGeggy’s ex-girlfriend. One could say they despised each other.

 

One day McGeggy found a bottle on the beach. He pulled out the cork and a Genie appeared. You know the drill. The Genie offered McGeggy a wish – anything, for liberating the Genie from the bottle. McGeggy envisioned vacation homes, exciting trips, an overflowing bank account.

 

“There is one catch,” the Genie interrupted. “Whatever you get, McGeegy gets double.” This was a shocker. As much as he craved his fantasies, he couldn’t bear the idea of McGeegy making out even better than him.

 

After some anguished thought, McGeggy responded, “You know, I’ve been feeling half-dead all week. For my wish, I’d just like to stay that way.”

 

Unfortunately for us, this anecdote reflects the awful state we’re in. President Bush found the bottle, and elected to remain in the half-dead political state he’s been in for awhile. Genie or no genie, he counted on the Democrats to create an even worse situation for themselves.

 

How can it be that the Democrats have not been able to exploit a Republican presidency with the lowest approval ratings since Richard Nixon’s on the eve of his resignation? Can they do anything to improve their lot with the electorate? Or has the system become so unresponsive that politics as a whole is out of favor?

 

The mandate from the 2006 elections was change – stopping the war, reigning in executive authority run amok, providing economic security for our average people. But the victorious Democratic congressional leadership have not made much progress, and many polls show their ratings even lower than the president’s.

 

The president as commander-in-chief has great power in times of war, even a presidentially manufactured war. Congress also has power, but seems so cowed by the prospect of being seen as weak on defense, or as unsupportive of our troops, that they end up doing lockstep behind the president. Some, like Sen. Hillary Clinton, voted for a resolution that may provide license for an attack on Iran. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

Once, in a leadership workshop, I experienced an activity whose point has stayed with me to this day. A volunteer from the group was asked to walk from one side of the circle of participants to the other. As he began to walk, an “accomplice” came from the circle to block his path. Achievement-oriented, the volunteer couldn’t allow anyone to block him from his path and challenged the interloper, sometimes with some force.

 

Inevitably, the volunteer became so involved with the person blocking that he ended up way off his own course. After some discussion, someone tried the experiment again, this time with instructions to ignore the obstruction and focus only on getting to the other side. When the volunteers used this approach, they made it quickly to the target spot, with only momentary distraction by the blocker. Wow!

 

Like the initial volunteers, the Democrats have allowed the president to control the agenda. Their strategic questions have been centered around how aggressively to oppose his policies: staying the Iraq course, eavesdropping on American citizens, now appointing a new Attorney General who isn’t sure if he opposes torture.

 

Effective leadership is never defined by opposition, but by commitment to a valued vision of the future. Today’s Democrats have been around for awhile, and running Congress for almost 11 months. Who can say clearly what they stand for without mentioning the president?

 

Congress needs to provide funds for what it does believe we should be doing in Iraq – perhaps plans for a smooth and safe exit. Maybe we can get them body armor for that, strict rules about the use of mercenaries, a second Iraq resolution – this time saying what they do mean to say.

 

More than these tactical steps, the Democrats need to provide a post-Bush direction for our country, one that is more than merely non-Bush. Pieces of such a vision leak out every so often – of a strong and lawful, yet compassionate country, with secure borders and the clear sense that it’s worth being on this side, for everyone.

 

I’m not hearing even a clear discussion about the desperately needed new direction. Maybe we need to begin it ourselves, hoping to bring them along.