The Power of an Idea and the Perils of Camelot

“All men are created equal.”  As the tip of Thomas Jefferson’s quill lifted from the parchment of the Declaration of Independence, the idea of equality was forever sewn into the fabric of the American experiment, espoused in a founding document for the first time in world history.  It was unique in its simplicity, radical in its uniqueness.  

Centuries later, the idea of equality has not been fully achieved.  Racial tensions persist, gender discrimination continues, and anti-gay policies progress.  The 2008 election of Barack Obama, however, was a turning point in American history, an opportunity for the bigoted bias of generations past to be forever doomed to the ash heap of history. 

Obama is the quintessential American success story.  The ability of an African-American man, born in Hawaii and raised by a single parent, to achieve educational, financial and political success is a testament to Jefferson’s foundational idea of equality, and to how far we’ve come as a nation.  Obama embodies the American dream. 

As a presidential candidate in 2008, he campaigned as the “post-racial” and “post-partisan” candidate.  He was going to bring a new level of civility and equity to both the political process and the American system of governance.  As then-Senator Obama stated in his 2006 book The Audacity of Hope, “What struck me [while running for the US Senate] was how much of what they believed seemed to hold constant across race, region, religion, and class.  I told them that government couldn’t solve all their problems.  But with a slight change in priorities we could make sure every child had a decent shot at life and meet the challenges we faced as a nation.”

It is said in politics that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose.  In Obama’s case, the poetry of the campaign—the promises of post-partisanship and the ideas of hope and change—attempted to implement Jefferson’s fundamental idea of equality.  But they were, unfortunately, misguided.  In many ways, the idea that most characterizes President Obama’s rise to power comes not from the founding of the American Republic, but rather the founding of an American dynasty. 

After the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, his wife Jackie gave an interview in which she referred to the Kennedy Presidency as an “American Camelot,” a time of progress and peace, honor and valor.  The term “American Camelot” has come to signify the Kennedy dynasty as a whole: the most powerful, picturesque, and influential family in American history.  But like the legends of old, where the principles and values of the Round Table were constantly subverted by the humanity of its occupants, the American Camelot also attempted to cloak the mortal failings of the Kennedys in a veil of dynastic tranquility and a manufactured image of serenity. 

The Kennedys are great Americans who have served their country for generations and continue to do so, but they often depended on their image to maintain their reputation in spite of their personal failings.  Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was a testament to the success of image politics.  He was portrayed as the candidate of all people, uninhibited by the backwards tensions of race, gender, and even party.  But the prose of his governance has been lacking in true substance, lacking in the practical consummation of Jefferson’s idea of equality.

While Obama is not the socialist his critics rail against, his political philosophy is centered in the belief that the government can mandate equality, success, and social progress.  He emphasizes the role the government plays in stimulating the economy, lifting the less fortunate out of poverty, and saving the environment.  In doing so, he has demonized corporations and the rich while idolizing community organizations and unions. 

The Camelot-like image of hope and change has given way to a statist philosophy of governance.  His intentions are valiant but the increase in government spending, bureaucracy, and unnecessary regulation actually hinder the idea of equality espoused in the Declaration of Independence.  As Jefferson stated, “A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.  This is the sum of good government.” 

In reality, no presidency more clearly demonstrated true equality than that of Ronald Reagan.  Reagan should not be deified or idolized like he is by many on the right.  He and his presidency were flawed – Iran-Contra and the response to the AIDS crisis come to mind.  But his vision of the American dream and the power of the individual transformed America from the malaise-ridden stagnation of the Carter years to the enterprising boom of the 80s and 90s. 

The equality that Jefferson envisioned is only achieved when the power of the individual is unleashed and the entrepreneurial nature of the American people unhindered.  As Reagan stated, “Only when the human spirit is allowed to invent and create, only when individuals are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefiting from their success – only then can societies remain economically alive, dynamic, prosperous, progressive and free.”  To that I would add, only then is true equality of opportunity achieved.  

We as Americans must be wary of the Camelot-esqueFinancial Times, the budget “stabilizes our debt at 76 percent of GDP – ‘roughly double historic levels.’”  This timid incrementalism is unacceptable.

But the greater failure is the imposed stagnation of the individual spirit.  As the Obama Administration imposes their liberal ideology, the power of individual entrepreneurship is squelched and the opportunity for equality hindered. 

In 1984, Reagan said “Recognizing the equality of all men and women, we are willing and able to lift the weak, cradle those who hurt, and nurture the bonds that tie us together as one nation under God.”  The Reagan Revolution transformed America as we know it.  To solve the daunting challenges facing us we need another revolution of equal or greater strength and boldness.  But it should be a revolution based on the idea of equality and individual enterprise rather than the cursory image of Camelot.  

Jobs Should Now Be the First Priority

In the past few weeks, the American political and economic infrastructure has experienced some serious blows.  Democrats and Republicans in the White House and Congress spent weeks debating a compromise on the defecit and debt ceiling.  In the end, they landed on a compromise that is neither substantial nor popular and was signed into law mere days before the impending default of the United States on its financial obligations.  

A few days after this compromise was reached, Standard & Poor's, a credit rating agency, announced that it had downgraded the United States' bond rating from AAA--the highest possible rating--to AA+.  S&P stated in their decision that they were "pessimistic about the capacity of Congress and the Administration to be able to leverage their agreement this week into a broader fiscal consolidation plan that stabalizes the government's debt dynamics anytime soon."  While S&P's credibility is in serious question due to their actions during the financial crisis of 2008--a story for another time--the effects of this downgrade have reverberated through the world economy.  In the last four days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has wildly fluctuared from a high of 11,462 to a low of 10,687 with many peaks and valleys in between.

The question now becomes what is Congress and the president to do?  Both parties, and President Obama specifically, have announced a pivot from the debt debate to jobs, although this announcement has been made many times before.  While Obama will embark on a bus tour of the Midwest on Monday with stops in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, he will then begin a 10-day vacation in Martha's Vineyard with his family.  Congress meanwhile is out of session until September.  

Criticisms of Presidents for taking vacations and members of Congress for scheduled recesses are always overstated.  Political leaders--the president in particular--are never truly on vacation.  They have the technology and the wherewithal to conduct most items of business and make necessary contacts from any location.  That being said, our political leaders face two challanges resulting from this schedule.

First, there is an image problem.  Politicians came out publicly after finalizing the debt ceiling compromise and announced that jobs would be the new priority.  Members of Congress subsequently left Washington and returned to their district.  The reality of our political world is that little if anything could actually have been accomplished during the month of August had the members of Congress remained there; however the image of the recess is one of Congressmen and women exhausted from a self-inflicted conflict over the debt ceiling going on vacation while the unemployment rate remains above 9% and the stock market seemingly rises and falls on a whim.  Image may not be reality, but image is integral in the business of politics.

Second, there is an economic reality problem.  As I stated, theunemployment rate stands at 9.1% while the actual unemployment is upwards of 16%.  In real terms, approximately one in six Americans is out of work and as is often the case, the brunt of the burden has fallen on the most vulnerable.  Poor and lower-middle class families, African Americans, and even teenagers have had the most difficulty in finding employment.  

Government does not hold the silver bullet, the magic potion that can fix the economy and return unemployment to a more manageable level.  But it does have the ability to influence economic activity.  There are compromises on which Democrats and Republican could potentially agree; a great bargain of economic stability.  These could include the extension of the payroll tax cut, extension of unemployment benefits, tax reform, allowing corporations to bring overseas money back to the United States without a tax burden, and many other possible solutions.  

These may not solve the problem but they would be a step in the right direction.  Merely cutting government spending will not stabalize the economy and put us on a path towards consistent and substantial growth.  Our government must take further steps; all we need now is leaders who are actually in Washington and who have the political will to take a stand.