Obama campaigning in Iowa
Thomas Friedman writes in his column that the 100 day yardstick for determining the success of an incoming president in carrying out his campaign promises is now just 100 days that a President actually carries out his campaign promises. The rest of the time he is out on the road trying to convince voters to elect members of his party to win midterm elections and maintain a majority in both houses as well as to seek re-election for himself.
That’s right, we don’t have a full-time time government. As Friedman points outs, “Congress is a full-time fund-raising enterprise that occasionally legislates and a White House that, save for 100 days, has to be in perpetual campaign mode.”
No wonder we can’t seem to get things done. Unemployment is still stuck at 9%, gas prices are still high and America is still spending billions trying to keep Al Qaeda away from our shores.
We need a government to focus on three things, Jobs, Education and Health Care. 100 days is not enough time to do this and if any incumbent president, senator or member of Congress wants to insure they get re-elected, the work they have done should be enough to convince the public to vote for them again.
Campaigning for re-election is distracting. It divides our government and prevents any real progress in reforming our government since candidates have to convince the public why they should not vote for the other candidate. Campaigning should only be limited to those who seek office for the first time. Once elected, they can breathe and focus all their energies on achieving the goals they have set out to do. Accomplishing something while in office has far reaching impact and resonance with voters and makes it more challenging for the new candidates to beat them on re-election.
