A Reason to Reflect Rather than Rejoice

"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Mark Twain

At 1 am CST last night, after being asleep for about an hour, I got woken up by my phone constantly buzzing with text messages.

The first one I read was simply "WOOHOO!" from a law school friend.  "Great," I thought. "He's drunk texting on a Sunday."

After realizing my inbox had about five more similar messages I realized something was happening. Without tv or the internet until this weekend (damn you, Comcast), I logged on to NPR's iPhone app.

"OSAMA BIN LADEN KILLED."

I'll admit it--my initial reaction was not "WOOHOO!"--it was more like relief mixed with a little bit of happiness, surprise, and a weird sense of peace.

Relief not because his life was taken but because for so long he and his followers planned and rejoiced over American lives taken without any sort of sadness or remorse--and now he was gone.
Happiness not for his death but for all those family members of the 9/11 victims who needed some kind of justice, symbolic or not, that they can look to when remembering their loss.
Happiness not for his death but for what he symbolized for some people and his perpetuating the stereotype of Muslims as murderous, heartless, vengeful souls.
Surprise because I sort of thought Osama had died a while back and the very unorganized and chaotic Al-Qaeda needed their leader to be "alive" to keep the fear alive.
And finally peace because so many people were holding their breaths for this moment for ten years and he had been laughing, celebrating, and--worst of all to most people--living. And now there seemed to be a balance of some sort, at least the illusion of it.

I don't think waving the American flag and dancing in the streets is the way I would ever show my feelings about Bin Laden's death--or anyone's death. But I do understand the emotions behind wanting to do that, the need for some sort of something after years of hurting and mourning.

I woke up and read more about the mission, the attack, and all those (pretty damn brave) military men and women involved. I watched Obama's full speech in my comfy bed on my phone and thought he did an excellent job in explaining what happened and what it may mean. I felt pride, yes, for the county and for President Obama who is constantly being questioned as legitimate because he's young, black, and has an exotic name.

A feeling of unrest took the place of all that quickly. My mind was everywhere, questioning everything. 
Are we pulling troops out of Afghanistan? Are we continuing this war? Does this mean Al-Qaeda is done also? It's a victory, I agree, but to what degree? Was this really a "strategic blow" to his followers? Does he have a successor ready to go? How does Pakistan feel?

I know, even with my limited knowledge on Al-Qaida and the terrorist movement, that this so-called war against terror is hardly done. This doesn't mean we're done defending ourselves and our land against the people associated with that man--or all new enemies we don't even know yet. As CIA director Leon Panetta wrote in a memo: "Bin Laden is dead. Al-Qaida is not."  In fact, the fear has been this will cause some sort of retaliation. Embassies across the world were already warned and even on my drive to work this morning, I watched a helicopter (probably just monitoring traffic) with suspicion. And there is already debate about whether his "burial at sea" was okay from a Muslim perspective.

Despite the feeling that this death is a good thing for the victims of 9/11 and America (hell, it ain't America's WORST day) and despite the people running and screaming "USA! USA!" in the streets, I sadly thought about what this doesn't mean. His death cannot bring back all the lives lost. His death won't re-erect the towers or bring the people of Flight 93 back. It won't erase any pain or tears. It's just one death after many deaths, a domino but not the last one.

Part of me wishes I could just feel joy and patriotism and it stopped there. But I, like most of the Conservative and Liberal journalist I've been following all day, have to keep going past that. So now in the midst of all those emotions I felt at 1 am this morning, I am watching the news and holding my breath again for the next moment when the President will have to put his game face on again and get in front of that camera.

My, Aren't You Impatient! (Why I'm Not Worried About the GOP's Wins)

Once upon a time there was a house. It wasn't in awful shape, but it wasn't brand new. A man moved into this house and declared he was going to fix it. And then one day a neighbor blew up a part of it. It was pretty awful. But then the owner decided to go after a completely different neighbor. And then he ignored the house so he can go after the neighbor while not going after him at all. He did not maintain the paint, the pipes, etc. For eight years he did this, finally moving out.

And then a new guy moved in to the now dilapidated house, fully knowing the task ahead of him. He agreed to pay for the repairs--all of them. He had to try and be friends with the neighbors who didn't do anything but had come under fire from the previous owner. And after two years, though there was progress, it just didn't seem like it was enough--the house still looked in desperate need of fixing up.

Yesterday, the GOP took hold of the House in Congress. And the Democrats just barely kept control of the Senate. Across the country, people like Rick Perry and Rand Paul won over voters by simply playing up the fact that Obama hasn't done anything for this country and America still looks like it's in desperate need of some fixing up.

It's been two years since Obama took office. In those two years, he has stopped a recession (something that preceded his taking office by EIGHTEEN MONTHS--i.e. during Bush's reign). He has passed a health care bill despite the GOP's attempts to block it and now young adults can be covered by their parents' insurance until they're 26, there's a 100% coverage of preventive care, there's no more lifetime caps on reimbursements, and insurance companies must cover pre-existing conditions.

But beyond this incredibly huge achievement with the health care bill (something that has been pushed over and over since President Truman), Obama acted quite decisively and stopped the country from going into economic depression, after inheriting a mess from Bush. I know some of you have a lot to say about the decision to bail out those companies--but did you know all those loans were paid back in FULL with INTEREST? And economists agree it did not hurt the economy, albeit it had a mediocre effect. So argue all you wish about the problems with his stimulus law or the administration of TARP, but the actions taken were professionally handled, apparently necessary and, so far, more constructive than destructive. 

Mr. Obama has also helped engineer a big push for clean energy, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to reduce sex discrimination, tighter tobacco regulations aimed at the 1,000 Americans under age 18 who become smokers each day, and tighter financial regulation including reform of credit card rules.

But above ALL the above Mr. Obama has been stellar in one area crucial to our country’s future: education. Democrats historically have been AWOL on school reform because they are beholden to teacher unions, but Mr. Obama has reframed the debate and made it safe to talk about teaching standards and “bad teachers.” Until Obama, Democrats barely acknowledged that it was possible for a teacher to be bad. He used stimulus money to keep teachers from being laid off and to nudge states to reform education so as to benefit children for years to come. His “Race to the Top” focused states on education reform as never before.

And that's had more impact on education than years of Bush pushing "No Child Left Behind."

So why has his approval rating dropped? And why has the Tea Party, a political movement aimed at taking down the current government, gained 4 in 10 Americans' support? And how and WHY did the Democrats lose the House?

It's simple.

1. We don't hear about any of Obama's accomplishments in the media. The people who oppose him and all his actions keep the negative issues in the news--along with some ridiculous misconceptions (please, guys, look up the word "socialism" and don't use ANYTHING taxes pay for if you don't want taxes). And his supporters end up spending all their time defending those arguments and not highlighting everything he is doing right. Whether he's Muslim or not (and the fact that his father is Kenyan) only matters if you're ignorant. Period.

2.  And secondly, it's always easier to say you can do it better or that your way is going to work.

It's like when you're watching Jeopardy and get every answer right but the person on TV can't seem to get any--and you feel smart sitting at home and consider trying out for the show. Or when you're watching someone do something and get it wrong over and over and in the back of your head you're frustrated and thinking, "Just let me try. I can do it better."

The GOP and their subspecies the Tea Party think they can do it better. They can make the employment rate soar (something that Obama has helped steadily rise since 2008), they can be more productive, and they can do all this with little to no government intrusion.

And I, along with many Democrats saddened by yesterday's losses are saying simply, "Go. For. It."

Let's see what you can do differently in two years. And if you are successful in keeping that fear and hate for the Obama administration alive and you push him out of office, let's see what your people can accomplish in the next six years.

I'm not arguing that Obama is the best president this nation's ever seen. Or that I am completely satisfied with him. He hasn't kept his campaign promise on gay rights or done anything major in environmental law. But I can't ignore what he HAS done.

Being President of the Unites States by itself is a pretty hard job. But when you come into it after eight years of Bush's crazy reign with an economy in recession, a war, and a very disenchanted group of citizens, the job is a hundred times worse. Add a Congress that blocks every bill you want to pass, very blatant racism, and your religion always being up for debate and the job seems impossible.

As Mike Halpernin in Time Magazine said a few months ago, "Unlike Bill Clinton, especially early in his presidency, Obama has largely maintained control of his public image, preserved the majesty of the office (a job that has become harder than ever because of the toxic freak-show nature of our politico-media culture) and maintained good relations, in public and private, with the armed services brass, the intelligence community and law enforcement." 

So go for it, GOP.

We dare you.