Obama must be sincere about bipartisanship, rally Congress

Column by Derek Brown

In his first week in office, President Barack Obama sent a message to the rest of the world that America has changed its direction; It will no longer be business as usual. Through overturning many of his predecessor’s policies, Obama has stood tall on campaign promises thus far. Americans, however, should not be duped into thinking that actual change has arrived in Washington yet. The real test of the 44th President of the United States is to insure that his executive orders are carried out responsibly and efficiently.

On January 22, in just his second full day in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order issuing a one-year deadline for the closing of detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo has been an issue of intense controversy in recent years after the past administration determined that Guantanamo detainees were “enemy combatants” and therefore not entitled to any of the protections of the Geneva Conventions. This aggravated a growing distaste throughout many parts of the world toward the United States. Now that Obama has laid out the goal of a one-year closure, he has the difficult task of following through. Some have criticized Obama for the decision for such a swift closure. Sen. John McCain says that we should first determine what to do with the detainees being held there before setting a closing date. The jury is still out on Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo. While I applaud the idea of a one-year goal, the president must show that he can provide the proper leadership necessary to accomplish a safe closing of Guantanamo within a year.

Obama also recently put together an $819 billion stimulus package that passed in the House of Representatives, despite receiving zero votes from Republican representatives. The strict party-line vote comes as we can still hear echoes of Obama preaching bipartisanship from his inaugural address. “On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances… that for far too long have strangled our politics,” he proclaimed that frigid, historic day.

Well, now is the time for Obama to show he was sincere in those calls for a bipartisan government as the package heads to the Senate, where the Democrats failed to receive a filibuster-proof majority in the fall. The president has urged senators not to “drag our feet or allow the same partisan differences to get in our way.”  American people are hurting and want to see a stimulus package passed soon. Obama needs to show the leadership and ability to rally Congress into passing the bill and beginning the long road to economic recovery.

Many words are used to describe the American government, but “efficient” is not normally one associated with the processes in Washington. With the country “amidst a crisis,” as described by Obama, the time for swift and direct governing is upon us. America must take a new direction to ensure future prosperity. In his first week in office, Obama has done many things to turn America in this new direction. Now he must act. In this long ride, we are about to begin with Obama; thus far, he has studied the map and chosen our route. Now he must prove he can drive the car.

Derek Brown is an undeclared sophomore. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.