The fanfare being generated in advance of Barack Obama’s Inaugural on Tuesday is astonishing. Crowds are following the Train Tour throughout the east coast, polls show Obama’s approval rating hovering around 80%, and tickets to the event are harder to get than tickets to the Beatles/Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert.
While I am sure his Inaugural address will live up to the hype, let’s take a step back for a second and take a deep breath.
First of all, how can anyone have an 80% approval rating before their first day at work?
Secondly, and more importantly, does Obama have any choice but to disappoint people after receiving 80% approval ratings and proactively surrounding himself with reminders of Abraham Lincoln?
Yes, there will be a honeymoon, but there will also be an inevitable end to the honeymoon. I’m just wondering if we are ready to admit that all of this hype might not be a good thing.
Where do we set the balance between celebrating an historic moment with a popular new president, and the creation of unrealistic expectations of our new leader?
It’s probably nice to have the problem of high expectations, considering the alternative. But the honeymoon may be shorter than we think, because don’t look for Congress to help extend the honeymoon.
If you think Sen. Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi will enjoy looking like Obama’s rubber stamp, then you don’t follow much politics. It won’t take long for reality to set in.
But hey, who am I to rain on this parade? I hope that soon to be President Obama is able to rise to the occasion and deliver on the great expectations made of him. He’s obviously not a man to be underestimated, so I hope his successes keep the honeymoon going longer than usual.
But as citizens, let’s keep it all in perspective. He’s a man trying to get a lot of things done in Washington D.C. Trust me; we’re going to need to cut him some slack.
January 18, 2009
January 6, 2009
An Historic Session
Wednesday marks the opening of the 2009 Colorado Legislative Session. Much has been made of the history that will take place as an African American will lead both the State House and State Senate for the first time in Colorado history.
This is significant for a variety of reasons, but I’m going to let historians and people smarter than I tackle that side of the story.
My take on the session has nothing to do with the color of anyone’s skin. I think the 2009 session will be historic for another reason.
Colorado legislators will have one thing and only one thing to tackle this year, the economy. Colorado’s constitutional budgetary mandates have created major hurdles for any expansion of the state budget, even when times are good. When times are bad, like right now, balancing the state budget, let along trying to do anything new, will be nearly impossible.
I briefly mentioned in my 2009 ill-fated prediction blog that my fiscal conservative friends may like the idea of the legislature’s budgetary hands being tied.
However, I believe they will be disappointed because the combination of infrastructure needs and constitutional budget mandates will give the legislature the public support they need to make major changes to our state’s budget process.
It’s fine to think that legislators will fight over the few dollars that aren’t already constitutionally tied down, and then end up not doing much at all. But if our roads and most importantly, our highway bridges are in as bad of shape as experts say they are, the legislature will have the bi-partisan and public support it will need to tackle TABOR and the other constitutional budget mandates that currently tie their hands.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and I think the necessity of failing infrastructure will invent a movement that may gut TABOR beyond recognition. I know Amendment 59 failed last year, and economic referenda can only be voted on during certain years, but I think we’ll see a major movement to adjust our constitution’s budget mandates.
We know most legislators feel too restricted with the constitution’s conflicting amendments. This session may afford them a golden opportunity to reset the playing field. It will take unprecedented events to unclog this log jam. But, I think we are experiencing those events right now.
I know that I’m out on another limb here, and Governor Ritter showed me the risk in doing that last week with my Senate nominee pick. But, I honestly believe history will be made during the 2009 legislative session and it will have very little to do with the color of anyone’s skin.
This is significant for a variety of reasons, but I’m going to let historians and people smarter than I tackle that side of the story.
My take on the session has nothing to do with the color of anyone’s skin. I think the 2009 session will be historic for another reason.
Colorado legislators will have one thing and only one thing to tackle this year, the economy. Colorado’s constitutional budgetary mandates have created major hurdles for any expansion of the state budget, even when times are good. When times are bad, like right now, balancing the state budget, let along trying to do anything new, will be nearly impossible.
I briefly mentioned in my 2009 ill-fated prediction blog that my fiscal conservative friends may like the idea of the legislature’s budgetary hands being tied.
However, I believe they will be disappointed because the combination of infrastructure needs and constitutional budget mandates will give the legislature the public support they need to make major changes to our state’s budget process.
It’s fine to think that legislators will fight over the few dollars that aren’t already constitutionally tied down, and then end up not doing much at all. But if our roads and most importantly, our highway bridges are in as bad of shape as experts say they are, the legislature will have the bi-partisan and public support it will need to tackle TABOR and the other constitutional budget mandates that currently tie their hands.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and I think the necessity of failing infrastructure will invent a movement that may gut TABOR beyond recognition. I know Amendment 59 failed last year, and economic referenda can only be voted on during certain years, but I think we’ll see a major movement to adjust our constitution’s budget mandates.
We know most legislators feel too restricted with the constitution’s conflicting amendments. This session may afford them a golden opportunity to reset the playing field. It will take unprecedented events to unclog this log jam. But, I think we are experiencing those events right now.
I know that I’m out on another limb here, and Governor Ritter showed me the risk in doing that last week with my Senate nominee pick. But, I honestly believe history will be made during the 2009 legislative session and it will have very little to do with the color of anyone’s skin.
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