We need a leader, Mr. President

Much has been said in the liberal blogs about President Bush’s recent epiphany that, yes, a president has the power to veto spending bills that contain pork. The hypocrisy of his recent hard line stance in criticizing Democrats for excessive spending has been pointed out, considering government spending ballooned under Republican control the last six years at a rate unprecedented in American peacetime history, while the President’s veto pen gathered dust. Equally hypocritical is the fact that he is demonizing the Democratic leadership over said pork, when there are just as many Republican as Democratic earmarks in the disputed bills.

The continued practice of earmarks still disturbs most Americans, including yours truly (although new rules, such as PAYGO and better disclosure, have had some beneficial effect). However, an important fact bears repeating: As troubling as stories are about bridges to nowhere in Alaska, and as much as we need more members of Congress like Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee) and Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) that carry on the fight against earmarks year after year, pork-barrel spending is a drop in the bucket to the real financial “elephants in the room”. Those elephants are Social Security, the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the cost of health care (Medicare, Medicaid, the VA etc.)

We need leadership that can quickly negotiate the measly $5-10 billion differences between the president’s budget and bills from Congress, and get to work on the real problems before they bankrupt the country. We also need to focus on regaining our standing in the world, so the nations of the earth can come together under our leadership and stamp out the scourge of terrorism.

Who is responsible for the lack of leadership? Harry Truman taught us where the buck stops. Although I’ve used the following example before, it bears repeating. After President Reagan was shot (and nearly died), the first non-family member to visit him in the hospital was Tip O’Neal. These two fierce political foes wept together and prayed together in that hospital room for the President’s recovery. President Reagan’s political opponents liked and respected the man, for the most part. Whether or not you agreed with his policies, Reagan was a leader, and as such, was able to make things happen, even though he was forced to work with a Democratic Congress.

Current events give me the sinking feeling that the nation is drifting along without a rudder. On almost every issue, from the war in Iraq to budgetary issues, the president is choosing to play the role of stubborn partisan antagonist rather than leader. Claims that congressional Democrats are doing the same thing are immaterial. It’s the President’s job to lead, to heal the nation and get us pulling together in the same direction. For the good of the nation, he must do so now.