Category Archives: politics

Courage

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Not quite sure what to make of President Obama’s gutsy move in going after Osama Bin Laden. There is just so much to process, on so many different levels.

First, it runs against just about everything I believe about justice, but I am not sure that Bin Laden could ever have been brought to trial. Also, the unilateralism, the crossing of national borders to carry out a political assassination, and the extremely dispassionate aggression all run counter to my gut reaction to find justice through broad legal means. That said, I have little doubt that justice was served and that Obama’s choices (see more below) actually showed a remarkably subtle grasp of international politics and justice. Indeed, rather than hide behind a drone attack and rain down wanton destruction, he chose the more dangerous and surgical action–one that undoubtedly saved innocent lives.

I have been equally stunned by the reactions. If young people used the moment to behave with patriotism and New Yorkers rejoiced, there nonetheless has been a strange lack of compassion in the jubilation that misunderstands the value of human life in what seem to me to be some of the same dehumanizing ways that terrorists approach the world.

Republicans and right-wingers have, not surprisingly, been reluctant to acknowledge the President’s role and/or just how exceptional and important this was. On a more positive note, many former Bush administration officials, including Dick Cheney, have shown more sense and appreciation for the exceptional decision-making that is involved.

Oddly, my students showed a surprising amount of skepticism, mirroring less virulently the ridiculousness of shock-jocks like Limbaugh or Cleveland’s own Trivisano (sp?) who claimed that Osama Bin Laden himself was a fabrication (???). Everyone wanted to see the body or photographs. Really, how exactly would that help them get closer to the truth? It appears that they fear the “government’s” power to lie and/or dupe people in a sort of unquestioning way that actually shows a remarkable lack of sophistication. I suppose that I should not be surprised, but I am disappointed. It makes having even a reasonable conversation about the day’s events impossible, when some large portion begin yapping about how its all a lie.

Regardless of the reaction, I am amazed by Obama’s decision making. They had evidence but Leon Panetta only estimated that it was 60-80 percent reliable. Moreover, they had different options–drones, bombers, special forces. He could tell Pakistan; he could not tell them. He could capture or kill. The list goes on. The stakes were incredible. What if Bin Laden wasn’t there? What if something went wrong (and it always does)? Think context–Desert One in Iran or Somalia.

Given the context, you have to be impressed with the deliberation, the decisiveness, and the resolve. If I admired Obama before, I am even more impressed now with his courage and instincts. Leadership demands making choices, and doing so under pressure and at the right moment. He could not have gotten this one any more correct.

Fannie, Freddie, & You: A Short History of “Sponsoring Recklessness” from The New Yorker

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James Surowiecki, in a recent New Yorker, offers a short history of Fannie and Freddie, titled Sponsoring Recklessness: Financial Page: The New Yorker. His title makes the interesting point about the relation between markets and the state. When is private enterprise merely that? And, where does the line for public responsibility for private failure lie. This is a great question. It is worth asking: if the state (federal government) backs private entities, what is their incentive not to take undue risks? Isn’t this sort of act, destined to end in failure? Can we really trust the political system to solve such problems? Would it be better if these entities were truly private or exclusively public?

As a fan of the power of the state, both to regulate markets and to encourage the distribution of wealth (resulting in a more equitable society, with a rich and thriving middle class), the failure of Freddie and Fannie is disturbing.