Governing Ain't Easy

It looks like President Obama is considering reversing course on Guantanamo. Representative Don Ipson and I were together when we heard President Obama announce that he was closing Gitmo. We wondered whether he had an alternative. The answer seems to be “no.”

I actually am greatly encouraged by the fact that President Obama is willing to take a deeper look at the issues, and, if necessary, change course. He has little governing experience, and, no doubt, he will discover that many things are more complex than originally thought. Republicans will skewer him for any change – because that’s what happens in the tribal warfare we call politics; but I hope Democrats will give him some room to learn and adapt.

I have no idea what the answer is to Gitmo, but I agree with the President that it is complex.

I’ve mentioned before some of the instruction I received 9 years ago at legislative orientation. Representative Kevin Garn also said in that orientation, “The easy stuff already has been figured out.” He meant that the act of governing is complex – knowing that each of us came loaded with silver bullets that we thought would solve everything.

Americans have a tremendous zeal to change things. We are hungry. That plays a big part in making us innovative and productive. I can’t help but think back, though, to my first big landscaping project.

Fifteen years ago, Sara and I bought a new house, and, wanting a different look, I ripped up EVERYTHING in the yard. After a few weeks, I was bogged down. My neighbor, Leon Johnson, an experienced farmer/school administrator/former mayor of Mantua, had been watching the ordeal with some amusement. Finally, I asked, “Leon, where did I go wrong?” He said, “You tore up everything – the good and the bad. You first have to identify what’s good, and then build around that.”

America is a great nation. As polls indicated, though, most people wanted to move away from President Bush for one reason or another. So, let’s move. But, let’s first identify the things we don’t want to change. I’ll share my quick list of 4 good things we should build around.

1. Free speech. Though it’s pop culture, I find the Perez Hilton / Miss California kerfuffle broadly revealing. (Disagreement now equals “dumb bitch” or some other pejorative). We do not tolerate competing ideas well. This dumbed-down dialogue has allowed our political class to run free.

2. Capitalism. I spend time contemplating why America is so great. I’ve come to the boring conclusion that much of it is simply access to capital. We’re rapidly learning that people everywhere have great ideas. Americans have had an advantage attracting capital to make ideas come to life. This has to do with markets that are made stable by reasoned regulation and legal predictability – which is why it is so troubling that secured creditors are being hectored for not jumping on board the auto-maker train wrecks in the making. Treat capital poorly, and it will go elsewhere. It has many options. By bullying the choir (the ones who actually had ponied up money for the automakers) the administration has chased away future investors and guaranteed the ultimate demise or total socialization of the automakers.

3. Small government. Government gets its power from the people. Beyond a certain point, big government means small people.

4. American greatness is important. There always have been and always will be forces that abhor liberty. While the scope of our involvement always should be debatable, our willingness and ability to stand against such forces should be certain. This requires production and wealth.