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It’s time to let science and medicine, not politics and rhetoric, lead us to good, sound policy.
The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon shook our nation to the core. Americans were deeply frightened, sad, and angry, and they rallied around a President who, at the time, showed impressive certitude and calm.
A year is an eternity in politics – though less than a moment in history.
I think President Obama could have handled politics and policies differently. But he has been decisive, strong, and consistent – important qualities in a president. Mitt Romney is indeed an Etch A Sketch, the antithesis of leadership.
Sometimes in politics, you think you’ve seen it all. Turns out I was wrong.
I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas.
In the melting pot that is America, inclusive trumps exclusive. Whether it’s single women, young adults, or minorities, alienating the rapidly growing voting blocs is not smart politics.
Why does it have to be politics? Is there a dynamism to that world and a theoretical capacity to do things that draws many talented people? Absolutely. Are there other ways to be involved and lead an interesting life? Of course.
Don’t reward bad behavior. It is one of the first rules of parenting. During the financial cataclysm of 2008, we said it differently. When we bailed out banks that had created their own misfortune, we called it a ‘moral hazard,’ because the bailout absolved the bank’s bad acts and created an incentive for it to make the same bad loans again.
Health care reform, the marquee legislative accomplishment of the Obama administration’s first term, was passed before we entered the world of divided government.