Today, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we saw a remarkable example of bipartisanship, in which two elected officials put aside their political differences and harnessed the power of government to work effectively on behalf of the people of America. Here's what it looked like:
As appropriate as such leadership is in the wake of a tragedy, it is also appropriate as the ordinary course of business for our political leaders.
But there's a problem:
Far too many people would have us believe that bipartisanship is impossible, and that big government just can’t work. Until Hurricane Sandy bore down upon his state, Governor Chris Christie was one such person. Although he now appears to be a man transformed, it is worth looking at and listening to the blistering attack that Governor Christie made on President Obama just last week:
Today, of course, a whole new “light” has been cast upon the situation. You see, it was not President Obama who had been stumbling around in the dark, but rather Governor Christie - and those like him - who are so quick to deride the ability of government to do anything right. Not only do they want to deregulate everything, hand off responsibility to the private sector, and leave everyone at the fickle mercy of market forces, they even have the temerity to insult and deride those of us who believe differently. Until, that is, they find themselves overwhelmed by forces that are even bigger than the powers that they and the private sector and the markets are able to wield.
The truth about President Obama’s “light-switch of leadership” is that when he flips it, it can cast a glow so bright that even people who have been blinded by the zeal of their own rhetoric can begin to see clearly.
Next Tuesday, let's not only re-elect President Obama, let's also fill our Congress and our state offices with people who are at least capable of seeing the light. They're mostly running for election as Democrats.
PS: Thanks for the Rec List!