May 7, 2020--Michelle Obama For Veep

For well over a year, fending off concern from friends about my political mental health, I have been talking about a dream ticket to run against Trump--Michelle Obama is drafted to run against Trump and wins in a historic landslide.

Now there is talk about another less dramatic and more realistic dream ticket that could also win in a walk--Biden (for president) and Michelle Obama (for VEEP).

Here is what "The Hill" had to say about this yesterday afternoon--

A Biden-Obama ticket would have a high probability of winning the White House, very possibly by an epic landslide, and winning control of the Senate as well as the House. 

A Biden-Obama victory would represent the historical greatness of the Democratic Party, would decisively change all three branches of government, and would powerfully change the course of American and world history.

Here's how I would frame the deal--privately, Biden tells Obama he would serve for three years and then resign from office, allowing her to become president and get well situated for a run of her own in 2024.

Michelle Obama continues to be America's most admired woman and also I am sure has a deep interest in restoring the Obama legacy. 

I am sane enough to know this is improbable, but desperate times require bold action. More unusual things have happened.

November 22, 2019--Adam Schiff

Watching the Democratic debate the other night, continuing to be decidedly unimpressed with the 10 candidates still standing (plus the two hovering in the wings--Michael Bloomberg and Duval Patrick) I wondered if these are the best contenders we can come up with. With at least 330 million Americans, can't we do better? Much better?

I continue to have the fantasy that Michelle Obama will enter the race, convinced she could win in a walk. And wouldn't it be sweet revenge to have an Obama defeat Trump.

About this I've taken a lot of grief from readers and friends who think I'm crazy. Maybe I am. 

But I have another thought--Adam Schiff for president!

He's in his 18th year in Congress and we know from how he has been handling the impeachment process that he is brilliant and blessed with eloquence and practical intelligence. In his almost-too-many years in Congress he has played significant roles in issues ranging from press freedom to the Saudi intervention in Yemen. On the other hand he supported the invasion of Iraq.

And he's a marathoner and triathlete.

Think about it. We could do worse. In fact, it looks as if we are.

February 12, 2019--The One Person Who Can Defeat Trump

I spent much of the weekend agitating about the 2020 election. 

Two more aspirants formally announced that they are seeking the Democratic nomination. Neither was unexpected--Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. The latter without hat or gloves declared her candidacy in a blinding snowstorm. That image more than what she said proclaimed I'm ready to run no matter the obstacles. 

And then, waiting in the wings was Beto O'Rourke who held a counter-rally in El Paso last night at the same time as Trump's.

With respect for these three who joined at least seven others and after that perhaps there will be ten more candidates, none make me feel they can beat Trump, assuming by Election Day he's not deposed or imprisoned. Though like other popular candidates such as Ron Reynolds from Texas, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump, running from Sing Sing, wouldn't manage to find a way to win. Such is the fervor of his dead-ender 35 percent. 

There is, though, at least one heavyweight already in the ring, Kamala Harris, who might find a path to 270 electoral votes, and one more-- the ever-coy Joe Biden, who, if he wasn't 100 years-old, could be nominated and win. 


But the passion among Democrats and Independents is tipped to the progressive, youthful wing of the party. What else explains the excitement about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? Or, for that matter, Beto. The good news, at only 29, AOC is constitutionally too young to serve as president. Otherwise, heaven help us, infatuated Dems might suicidally nominate her.


There is though a solution to our search for a winning candidate who also, to quote a popular TV commercial, knows a thing or two. Also, how to go high and low.

Michelle Obama.

I know, she says no way. But I say, let's get to work drafting her. Let's get a petition drive going with a target of at least 10 million signatures. That could attract her attention.

On a personal note, she has seen the Obama legacy largely obliterated from changes in the Affordable Care Act to the abandonment of the nuclear treaty with Iran. She has also seen devastating attacks on the environment (remember the Paris Agreement?) and as a Harvard Law School graduate has witnessed equally ferocious challenges to the rule of law itself. And don't overlook what she must feel about Trump and the birther business.

Her book, Becoming, has thus far sold nearly three million hard-cover copies (an all-time record for a First Lady memoir) and all polls show her by far to be the most admired American woman (she is most admired by 15% of the population, three times higher than number two, Oprah), who if she ran would sign up in a second to be her media advisor and spokesperson. 

(Also helping, husband Barack is most admired by 19% while Trump languishes at 13%.)

If Michelle would agree to run all Democratic money would flow to her and she could early next year begin to measure the Oval Office for new drapes. (Anything but gold.)

The one concern--complacency.  Look what happened to Hillary as she waited around for the coronation that never happened. But Michelle is smarter than that and appears to actually like people.

January 28, 2019--Joe: "I Like Republicans"

Writing these as I frequently do in real time, sometimes my words tumble out faster than my brain operates and I wind up embarrassing myself. 

Friday was such an occasion and so I want to apologize and set my version of the record straight.

I wrote a snarky piece about Joe Biden speaking in October to a "Republican-leaning" group in Michigan for which he received a $200,000 fee.

I can make myself live with the fee. Ex-president Ronald Regan raked in an astrological $2.0 million in 1989 dollars for addressing some Japanese group and Michelle and Barack Obama are in the process of becoming wealthy with money flooding to them from Netflix and various book publishers.

In addition to playing golf, with the exception of Jimmy Carter, it's what former presidents do after leaving office.

But what I couldn't abide was Joe Biden's shout out at the event shortly before Election Day to Fred Upton, a Republican congressman who was in a tight reelection battle. With the outcome too close to call, helping Upton win could have upset the Democrat's move to retake control of the House. As it turned out Upton won as did the Dems. But still . . .

In my piece I more than implied that Joe pocketed the 200 grand with the, wink-wink, understanding that he would help Upton, who is a big supporter of cancer research, a subject understandably close to Biden's heart.

I get it, but Biden did overlook the fact that Upton is also a leading and ongoing opponent of the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, legislation for which Biden helped work through the system by twisting congressional arms. Then, after it passed, at the signing ceremony a hot mic picked up Biden whispering to Obama, "This is a fucking big deal."

But confronted by the Times front-page story, rather than backing down, claiming as politicians almost always do, that he was quoted "out of context," Biden doubled down and wth a light spirit said he has no inclination to "blunt his instinct toward bipartisanship and compromise."

"I like Republicans!" he said, staking out a moderate position as he thinks about running for president in a field already full of very progressive candidates.

He joked, "O.K., well bless me father, for I have sinned."

Upton said that the praise for him was unexpected and that "it was an immense honor."

Since politically I care only about weakening Trump and defeating him in 2020, if this helps Biden win the nomination and then the election, we can deal with other policy issues subsequently.

In the meantime, I apologize for speaking too soon.

September 25, 2018--Second Lady

To distract myself from Trump-related agita I flipped around the Internet to see if there were some things we should book to do after returning to New York City in late October. 

Maybe take in a few shows and a couple of concerts.

I checked out Live Nation's website to see what they might be featuring. Among others they represent U2, Miley Cyrus (who I confess to liking), and Beyonce.

Maybe, I thought, we should go to something at the Barclays Center in the new Downtown Brooklyn. We haven't been there for anything, including to see the hapless Brooklyn Nets, partly owned by Jay-Z. It's that hip. 

Something unexpected jumped out as Live Nation's featured attraction--

On December 1st at the Barclays Center Michelle Obama will appear to promote her new book, Becoming Michelle Obama.

Tickets are available but going like hotcakes and so a second night is being added to the schedule. 

All over the country where she will appear in more than a dozen huge stadiums, including the 23,500 United Center in Chicago--home of the Bulls--tickets are selling so fast and the price is so high that the title of the former First Lady's book could be Becoming Rich.

First, there is the astounding $65 million advance the two Obama's received for a book from each of them. And then at the Barclays Center a fifth-row seat will set you back $1,256 (not a typo). A "meet-and-greet" package goes for $3,000, wheelchair seating at the back of the house costs $400 and a perch in the very top tier is only $29.50. For these, remember to bring binoculars.

I should add, as you attempt to assimilate this, about how the former president and his wife who represented themselves as all about reducing inequality while serving in the White House, how these two could so quickly sell their souls to Mammon (and Netflix, where they have a production deal that will yield well over $100 million) , supposedly 10 percent of the tickets to each event (I almost typed "concert") will be set aside for local "charities." Nosebleed seats, I assume.

Quoted in the New York Times, Steven Barclay (not related to the Brooklyn center), a book agent, was "virtually speechless as he checked the Ticketmaster landing page for Mrs. Obama, 'Huh,' he said, 'Wow. O.K. It's like you're looking at a Madonna tour.'"

More, I say, like a Beyonce tour. I've suspected for years that Michelle has felt Barack has an eye for Beyonce. And that she kept him an a short leash whenever there was an event at the White House or Inauguration to which Beyonce was invited. And that slowly, over time, the First Lady morphed her makeup and hair to look more and more like the singer's.

Check out the photo below and tell me I'm wrong.

October 17, 2016--A Job For Michelle

Having failed to get two-thirds of Congress and three-quarters of the states to amend the Constitution to switch Election Day this cycle from November 8th to tomorrow, Tuesday October 18th, so that we and they could be put out of our collective misery, though disappointed, I thought, as a distraction, let's pretend that the election already happened and Hillary won in a landslide.

This way we won't have to listen to another three weeks of stories about Donald Trump's stalking and groping or Hillary taking performance enhancing drugs before the debates and concentrate on something more upbeat--who Hillary should appoint to her cabinet.

I have one great suggestion--

Name Michelle Obama Secretary of Education.

I'm being serious and she's available.

Just the other day at one of her rallies for Hillary Clinton, with the Obamas needing to vacate the White House in just three months, Michelle said, "I need to find a job."

Well, this is a job for which she is well suited. Only last week on a CNN special, We Will Rise, her interest in and work with girl's education was movingly showcased and revealed her deep interest in expanding opportunities to the underserved.

And the job is convenient. As Rona said, she's "stuck in Washington" for the next two years while daughter Sasha finishes high school. Thus it would be a short commute and most nights Michelle could be home by dinner time.

Longer term, it positions her to run for the presidency in 2024 after eight years of Hillary Clinton. She'd be only 60. The perfect age for presidents.

I know she says that she can't wait to get out of the White House and away from the political arena--though this year she is far-and-away the most formidable campaigner. To serve as First Lady she put a powerful career on hold and she may come to conclude that being president is not such a bad deal after all. Everyone loves having Air Force One as one's private jet.

But seriously, she is brilliant, authentic feeling, and an excellent public speaker. And from the evidence of her earlier career, she has the proven ability to be a superb leader and manager. And, obviously, she knows a great deal about the power of education and could be an inspiration to young people and educators.

So let's suggest to the Hillary transition people that they put her at the top of the short list.

July 20, 2016--Melania's Speech

The flap about Melania Trump's speech yields good gossip and obvious material for late night comedians, but it is important in other, revealing ways.

Thirteen months ago when I wrote here about why we should take Donald Trump's candidacy seriously and not dismiss him as a narcissistic comedian, I quoted a friend who told me why he was putting out lawn signs to show his support for Trump.

Though he had never been to New York City he surprisingly knew about Trump's efforts to fix the problems with the ice skating rink in Central Park. How the city government had struggled for years and spent millions to fix it but still it produced slurry and not ice and thus could not be used.

Frustrated, in a few months, at his own expense, Trump repaired it and since that time many thousands have enjoyed it.

To my friend, this was in effect a metaphor for his enthusiasm for Trump--no matter his policy views (and they were as confused then as now), Trump, he was convinced, knew how to get things done and would make our government work again in behalf of all Americans.

Then there was Melania's speech. No matter how it was composed, by Mrs. Trump or a gaggle of speech writers, it in fact does almost word-for-word plagiarize--there is no other word for it--Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech.

Is this an example of Trump competency?

Who are the hack writers who were hired to produce perhaps the convention's most important speech? The one that was to humanize the Donald, to show his sensitivity to women? In political terms this was to be another ice skating rink. A way to demonstrate that he knew how to do business, to make things great again.

But all it reveals is careless disregard for the public, especially for those who doggedly supported him and waited on line for hours to attend his rallies and cheer him on. Instead, it shows how he takes people for granted and feels entitled to their support and belief in him.

The speech also reenforces another narrative about Donald and the other Trumps: that they are grifters.

People who have made their way and their inflated fortune by duping and in other ways taking advantage of people who look up to and respect them. Or who are symbiotically attracted to the glittering image the Trumps fraudulently project to the world.

Grifters who shamelessly will even steal another person's words.

Whether she knew she was being used or not, ironically grifted, Melania the night before last doomed the Trump candidacy to the proverbial scrapheap of history.

March 31, 2015--Hillary's Hair

There was a flap last week when Michelle Obama showed up on Jeopardy with what appeared to be a shaved head. The photos I saw tended to confirm that. She looked real good to me but I could only imagine what they must have been saying about her in the Heartland.

"You see. I told you. She's a militant. A black militant, and this proves it."

Well, there were official White House denials (about the hair). It seems she had her actual hair pulled way back in a tight bun.

This obsession about First Lady hair is nothing new. It goes back at least to Mamie Eisenhower's bangs and there was tons of commentary about Jackie's bouffants. But nothing, nothing like all the ink that has been spilled about Hillary Clinton's literally dozens of different looks. From her days when Bill was first a presidential candidate (shoulder-length hair and headband)  right up to this month (short, slightly off-center part, no bangs).

When I think about other prominent professional women (and men) most have "signature" hairdos. Condi Rice has that lacquered helmet with a dip of hair swept onto the left side of her forehead, Barbara Bush has that crown of soft white-gray curls, Dianne Feinstein consistently has a sweep of dark brown waves, Elizabeth Warren that unchanging Page Boy plus rimless signature glasses, while Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton's and Barack Obama's hair pretty much always looks the same, albeit in Obama's case grayer day by day.

Even those political women who have made some changes along the way have not done so as radically as Hillary. Senators Barbara Boxer and Kirsten Gillibrand come to mind.

When I asked Rona and Cousin Esther about this, simultaneously they said, "You just don't get it." But, I pointed out to them that they themselves have not swung from style to style over the years. Maybe this year a little longer, perhaps next a bit shorter. But that's pretty much it.

But do all the changes tell us anything about Hillary that we should know when considering her for the presidency?

Plenty. Just as her shape-shifting move from name to name to name tells us something.

Is she Mrs. Bill Clinton? Hillary Clinton? Hillary Rodham? Hillary Rodham Clinton? All of the above? Most likely the latter--all of the above--which would not be uncharacteristic of women of her generation who came to embrace feminism later in life. Women who had been raised to think that life for them would be determined largely by who they married. And then, in many cases, when that didn't prove to be satisfactory they came to acquire a liberated consciousness as fully formed adults--they weren't born to it as later generations of women were. Their feminism was put on, applied to an already-exisiting, well-developed sense of self.

But as with other forms of gender and cultural identities taken on later in life they do not always sit well. They are never fully assimilated, there are contradictions; and thus, in Hillary Clinton's case (a very special case indeed considering husband Bill's aberrant behavior and Hillary's serial public humiliations), living in the spotlight for decades, filled with unfulfilled ambitions of her own, she tried on different personalities as she tried on different names and hairstyles.

It comes with the territory when 67. All of this is very much who she is. Take it or leave it.

May 23, 2014--The VA Mess

It's déjà vu again.

For my entire adult life I have heard stories about the Veterans Administration healthcare system. Mainly horror stories.

About how bureaucratic it is and thus difficult for our veterans to get timely, high-quality treatment. And now we are learning how delays and suffocating administrative procedures may have led to the deaths of score of veterans in Phoenix and elsewhere.

When Barack Obama first ran for office in 2008, he made fixing the VA system his highest priority so our troops could get the treatment they deserve. His promise came at a time when there were reports about the disgraceful quality of care and conditions at Walter Reed Hospital, walking distance from the White House.

Obama pledged to clean up the mess and bring the VA up to "21st century standards." He even designated his wife Michelle to make the care of veterans her priority.

So where are we five years later?

Business as usual. Maybe, business worse than usual.

And the mess cannot be attributed to George W. Bush. The full blame rests with the current occupant in the White House.

What has Michelle Obama been up to in regard to veterans' care? Mainly periodic hospital visits between planting a vegetable garden in the White House lawn and jumping rope with inner-city kids. I know this is overstated, but not by much.

Like almost everyone, I am mad as hell about this.

The president cannot honor those killed and shed tears at the bedside of the grievously wounded, hypocritically, for political reasons, calling them as often as possible "heroes," while presiding passively over this ongoing disgrace.

Obama's head of the VA, General Eric Shinseki may have been a good general (though not everyone would agree) but he was  not qualified to head the Veterans Administration. What job did he ever have to prepare him for such a huge and complicated assignment? He was selected mainly because he publicly disagreed with President Bush's approach to the war in Iraq and fit an Asian Cabinet demographic to which Obama was eager to pander.

In the VA system there are 151 hospitals and 820 outpatient clinics that serve 6.5 million people a year. The annual budget is more than $57 billion. To run that is a very big job, it's a highest-priority assignment, and who do we have running it?  Someone whose major responsibility previously was serving four years as Army Chief of Staff.

If fixing the VA was such a high priority, was there no head of a major healthcare system, Humana, HCA, or the Mayo Clinic, who could have been recruited to take on the assignment?

Sadly, Shinseki's appointment was typical of the kind of people Obama named to Cabinet-level positions--minimally-competenet lightweights such as Tim Geithner who would not challenge or threaten Obama's leadership.

Name one Cabinet appointment with a truly distinguished track record in public or private life who went on the serve with true distinction? Or on the White House staff for that matter. Even Hillary Clinton's record is at best mixed.

So, where do we go from here?

First, fire Shinseki. Do not ask him to reign, summarily dismiss him. That would be a first for Obama and send a message of concern and seriousness.

And then about the larger problem--restructuring the VA healthcare system itself--there are two good approaches.

Privatize the VA hospitals and clinics. Get rid of the ineffective bureaucracy and sell the whole thing to HCA or Mayo and in this way eliminate of the Civil Service deadwood.

Equally important, and not mutually exclusive, make all veterans eligible for Medicare. No matter that they are not all 65. Pretty much everyone with Medicare likes it so why not extend this cost-effective, high quality healthcare system to all those Americans who did so much to serve our country?

Tinkering at the margins of this massive problem will not solve it. Doing something radical and smart is the better approach. Our brave men and women deserve no less.

January 30, 3014--State of Disunion

Rona asked, "Do you want to watch the State of the Union?"

With some guilt I said, "Not really."

"I feel the same way. I've given up on Obama and Congress. It's too depressing to watch him again mouth familiar clichés and see John Boehner sitting there all smug and grimacing."

"Yeah. Recent polls have Obama's approval rating well below 50 percent and Congress' under 20."

"I'd like to know what those 20 percent are thinking."

"So we have two other choices," Rona said, "Read or have dessert."

"Dessert for sure, but also let's watch a few more episodes of West Wing."

Some background--

When West Wing was first broadcast in 1999, though we are both political junkies, not wanting to get hooked on any TV series, we opted to ignore it even though a lot of our liberal friends were eating up every episode.

Now, with more time on our hands and looking for things to lighten our moods, via Netflix streaming, about a month ago, we began watching the first of the 154 episodes. Yes, there are that many. As of last night, we've seen 57 and are thrilled that there are about 75 more. Some nights we pig-out on WW and find ourselves staying up until 2:00 AM to squeeze in just one more.

By coincidence, Tuesday night, the night of the real State of the Union, which we were assiduously ignoring, halfway through the third season of West Wing, we watched the episode devoted to the preparation of President Jeb Bartlet's fictional State of the Union speech.

I'll give you one guess which one we preferred.

This lead to a breakfast conversation the next morning about presidentail politics.

"If I were president . . ."

"God forbid."

" . . . and was in the kind of political trouble Obama is in--not able to get anything done, held in low esteem by voters--what would be wrong with calling in West Wing's creator, Aaron Sorkin to ask his advice about what to do and what to say?"

Over her coffee cup, Rona looked at me skeptically.

"I mean, after all, politics is part theater."

"Actually, a big part," Rona agreed. "All the polling and spinning and even making things up and trying to entertain us is a version of theater. And then there is all the effort they make to interest and emotionally move the public."

"Thus, Ronald Reagan."

"And, to be fair and balanced, Bill Clinton. So, maybe you're right. Sorkin would be interesting to consult with."

I said, "I'd love to see the speech he'd draft for Obama."

"Hopefully it would be in the spirit of the one from the first-season episode called, 'Let Bartlet Be Bartlet' when Sorkin had him shrug off his handlers, march into the White House press room, and let them and his political opponents have it."

"Maybe Sorkin would have Obama show up in Congress to deliver his State of the Union to the American people, figuratively and literally, looking over the heads of members of Congress and talk right into the camera to address directly the people who elected him twice."

"Saying?"

"Let me try my hand at drafting something."

"This should be fun," Rona snickered.

My fellow Americans.

And I mean that--fellow Americans.  

I'm here tonight to speak to you. With all due respect, not to these members of Congress who invited me here to deliver the constitutionally-required State of the Union.

Presidents for 225 years have begun these speeches by summing up their view about how the nation is faring. Some have said that the state of the union is "strong," others that it is "at peace," or "free and restless." 

As I see things, the state of the union today is an utter mess. 

If I was out having a drink with you (more about that later), I might have used saltier language. 

For now, use your imagination. 

Yes, there have been improvements in the economy. More people than a year ago have jobs--though too many of those jobs are lousy jobs, paying a disgraceful minimum wage. Those working for $7.25 an hour, if they work 35-40 hours a week, are still living in poverty. 

And these folks in Congress are not prepared to do anything about it. In fact, they're not prepared to do anything about the richest folks in this country making more and more money, piling up a king's ransom of houses and yachts, and private jets while the rest of you are working two, three jobs just to make ends meet. 

I'm not against people getting rich. I'm against seeing the rich get richer while the middle class get poorer. 

Call this Class Warfare if you like. I call it the truth. 

So things are a mess. 

Some of this is my fault. Big time my fault. 

You elected me to change things. In my first two years I was able to do some of that. But not enough. It was not just these folks' fault [gestures to Congress]. I was too passive. I thought by my election bipartisanship would break out all over. These politicians would get the message that if this big-eared black guy with a funny name--Barack Hussein Obama--could get elected we'd better get out act together or the voters will throw us out of office. 

I should have tried that bipartisan business for just a month or two rather than a whole year. When it was clear it wasn't working then I should have come to you--the American people--to tell you that and to promise I'd try to do some unconventional things to pressure Congress to do right by you. 

I didn't do that. 

Michelle was pushing on me to man-up, but I was still hoping for the best. That members of both parties would at least for a time agree to work together. That's traditionally what happens when there is a new president who wins the election by a majority and there is a crisis in the land, as there was beginning in 2008. 

But Michelle was right. 

She also told me that on the very night of my first inauguration about 20 Republican leaders met over dinner to talk about what they needed to do to undermine me. She was right and I was wrong. I should have listened to her. 

About these things she's smarter than I. 

Also, I failed to try to schmooze these folks along. You know what schmooze means? If you don't, it means spending more informal social time with members of Congress. Republicans as well as members of my own party. The Democrats. Schmoozing together at the White House over drinks. Play golf together. That sort of thing. 

But I didn't do enough of that either. It's not my favorite thing. And so I didn't. Maybe I should have. 

But to tell you the truth, I don't think that would have made much difference. 

I'm calling out here tonight the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell. He's sitting right over there. [Point to him.] Senator McConnell said on day one of my presidency that the Republican's job was to make me fail so I'll be a one-term president.  

You said that, didn't you, senator? [Pause and stare at him.]

During my first State of the Union, right over there, a congressman from Georgia shouted at me twice, "You lie." 

I don't consider that fair. To have your mind made up before you even begin the conversation, to accuse any new president of lying. 

But by my not taking them on directly--by cutting Senator McConnell a lot of slack--I let you the people down. You didn't elect me to play games and back off when things got tough. 

And, by the way, how tough is my job compared to those of you who, as I said, are working two, three jobs just to keep your heads above water? 

I get a big salary and have a terrific place to live for which I do not pay rent nor have a mortgage. 

So it's over. 

What's over is any pretense that enough members of Congress will work with me and my staff for the good of the American people. 

They would claim otherwise, but I say that they're working for their own self interest--to get reelected, to gain influence and power. For themselves. Not for you. 

When it comes to Congress, the truth is I'm already a lame duck. 

Usually that doesn't happen until after a president's sixth year when half the people in this room really come out of the closet to declare they're running for president. At least half a dozen folks here are already off and running. Have been for a couple of years at least. That's fine. I did a version of the same thing myself. 

But I'm through playing games. 

Congress is not going to deal with the deficit, with tax fairness, with rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, with fixing the out-of-control costs of health care or, for that matter, how much we're spending on the military. They have signaled that and proclaimed that every day right here, in the press, and on talk shows. 

They are not listening to you. 

If they were they'd agree to increase the minimum wage, extend unemployment benefits and not cut support for education, health care, and the environment. They'd get serious about inequality and the collapse of the middle class. They'd be eager to make it more affordable for your children to go to college and support efforts to make sure there would be jobs for them when the graduate so they could proudly stand on their own two feet and no longer have too live in your finished basement. 

So what am I going to do? 

Here's what-- 

I'm getting out of Washington. Right after I finish here. 

I'm going to spend the next month, the next six weeks on the road, wandering around America. Visiting big cities, suburban communities, and small towns. I'm going to visit every state. All fifty. 

I'm leaving Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base and will travel around on public transportation as much as possible and, when it isn't, I'll be traveling in my car. I intend to do some of the driving myself. I want to feel the broken roads that everyone else needs to drive on. I plan to cut back on my Secret Service detail so I can mingle more informally with you. 

Every morning I will pop in for breakfast unannounced at diners and luncheonettes and for dinner at local restaurants and, if you invite me in, your kitchen. 

I hope you'll join me at the counter so we can talk privately about what's on your mind. What you're feeling good about. And what's aggravating you. 

I know I'm not all that good at listening--Michelle reminds me that I talk too much. But I promise to try to do more listening. And, if you'll indulge me, I'll tell you what's on my mind. 

We're going to keep the press entourage to a minimum and try to keep thsoe who trail after me at a distance. I know I'll get in trouble with this but that is my intention. I'll also be leaving all, all my advisors back in Washington. 

          During this time I won't be making any speeches or holding any press conferences.

You may be wondering how this will benefit you. I know I will enjoy spending time with you. When I first ran for president more than anything I enjoyed these kinds of unscripted times. 

So, finally, here's how I think doing this will be of benefit to you. 

I'm hoping that this experience which we will have together will not only recharge my batteries but also motivate you to give me and Washington a second chance. That you will feel that maybe, just maybe, with your help, we can make a difference. Maybe we in Washington will figure out ways to work together on your behalf. 

I've got to be honest with you--unless there is a huge groundswell of pressure from you that is applied to me and everyone else supposedly working for you it will remain business as usual. To work, all of us have to feel that if it doesn't get better, you'll throw us out of office. 

If nothing changes, I'll play out my days in the White House making speeches and hoping for the best. Those in this room will keep doing their thing--looking for PAC money and thinking about cashing in as lobbyists after they leave office. After I leave, I'll make a fortune writing my memoirs and focus on polishing my legacy. 

Again, you'll be ignored. 

As of right now all I'm asking is for you to have coffee with me tomorrow morning. Someplace in Pennsylvania. 

After a month, a month and a half of that, we'll see where we're at. 

You'll know more about me. I'll know more about you. 

They key, though, is what you will do to make me work harder and smarter for you and how you will do the same to all members of Congress. Because all of us here--Democrats as well as Republicans, Congress as well as the president--me--have together made this mess. 

I hate to put this on your shoulders, but the only way out of it is if you demand that we make things better for you. 

If you do, Americans will become the new Greatest Generation. 

Good bless the United Staes; and especially, God bless you.

April 11, 2013--Our Heroes

Under fire for its growing backlog of disability benefits claims, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last July set itself a goal: by year’s end, 40 percent of veterans would wait no more than four months for an answer on compensation claims for conditions as serious as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Instead, things got worse. A Center for Investigative Reporting analysis shows the ranks of veterans facing long waits increased by 18,000 since July 11, when the agency’s undersecretary for benefits, Allison Hickey, told reporters that the delays were unacceptable and pledged that the backlog would begin to shrink “right now.”

By early January, the total number of veterans waiting for all claims had dipped slightly but remained above 900,000, with 630,000–70 percent–waiting longer than four months.

Informed of the missed deadline, VA spokesman Steve Westerfeld amended the goal: the agency, he said in an email, now expects to turn the corner in 2014.

Yet two initiatives to reduce the logjam have failed to produce results so far, according to a CIR analysis of VA data—

Four years after it was widely touted, a $537 million computer system has successfully processed 75 claims. Yes, 75. And an effort to offload claims from the busiest offices has overloaded offices that previously had been performing well.

This is not only unacceptable; it is unconscionable that Barack Obama has presided over this mess. Recall that when he first ran for president he said that doing right by our veterans was his highest priority. Yes, the problem began during George W. Bush’s administration, but it has since gotten progressively worse.

President Obama can make all the speeches he wants to praise our military “heroes”; he can shed tears when meeting with families whose sons, daughters, husbands, and wives have been killed in action; and he can go to Walter Reed Hospital to spend time with the grievously wounded; but this makes his hypocrisy even worse when it comes to doing nothing to fulfill our national promise to those who volunteered to protect us.

When he was first inaugurated, it was announced that Michelle Obama and Jill Biden would devote themselves to advocating for the needs of military families. What have they done to carry out that pledge? 

I see the First and Second Ladies out and about calling for kids to lose weight while appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Fine, but what I prefer would be to see the president demanding action and personally keeping track of progress or the lack thereof. And if former hospital administrator Michelle Obama wants to do something more serious than hula-hooping and rope-jumping, she should become the president’s full-time representative at the Veterans Administration to make sure this problem gets fixed in months, not years.