10 Things Obama Needs to Do in His Second Term

Don't spend one dime on a gala inauguration. In fact, don't do anything more than you are legally bound to do, which is placing your hand on a Bible and swearing to uphold the Constitution. Keep it austere. Why bother with the ceremonial glitter?
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 11: U.S. President Barack Obama spaeks after a wreath-laying ceremony on Veteran's Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, VA - NOVEMBER 11: U.S. President Barack Obama spaeks after a wreath-laying ceremony on Veteran's Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

1. Don't spend one dime on a gala inauguration. In fact, don't do anything more than you are legally bound to do, which is placing your hand on a Bible and swearing to uphold the Constitution. Keep it austere. Why bother with the ceremonial glitter? Show the public you're aware of the challenges ahead and are ready to get to work.

2. Appoint Barney Frank Secretary of the Treasury. Frank is smart, he knows finance, he knows Congress, and, refreshingly, he neither fears nor gushes over Wall Street. Under no circumstances should you appoint another investment banker. Hasn't this incestuous cronyism done enough damage??

3. Assuming that Hillary Clinton is serious about stepping down, appoint U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as Secretary of State. In fact, even if Ms. Clinton isn't serious, she should be gently nudged out. She's too much of a hawk.

4. Use the bully pulpit to wean the public from the mistaken belief that "free trade" equals "fair trade." The American worker is getting slaughtered by our one-sided trade agreements. You need to educate the public by going on television and laying out the actual facts. Congress won't do it; the media won't do it; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce won't do it. Only the president has access to the bully pulpit.

5. Put aside all this tiresome "they must be worthy of meeting with us" nonsense, and agree to a sit-down with President Ahmadinejad of Iran. Worst case: Nothing comes of it because Ahmadinejad uses the occasion to lecture and badger us. So what if he does? Where's the harm? Best case: We make genuine progress in our relations with Iran. It's a no-brainer.

6. Prove to organized labor you meant what you said during the 2008 campaign, and put the EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) back on the table. And this time around you actually roll up your sleeves fight for it (yes, expecting this to occur is wildly ambitious).

7. Beg Hilda Solis to remain as Secretary of Labor. She's done a decent job in the face of unprecedented anti-union sentiment. Simply put, you could scour the entire landscape and not find anyone better than Solis. Keep her.

8. Withdraw from Afghanistan and prepare for a civil war. Everyone knows we can't "win" in Afghanistan (it's already the longest war in our history), and everyone assumes a civil war will follow our departure no matter when we leave. But here's the deal: If we leave now, there will be a civil war, and if we leave in five years, there will be a civil war. The message? Leave now and avoid the additional cost in lives and dollars.

9. Announce that we're removing the tens of thousands of American troops we have stationed in Japan and Germany, and break the news to those affluent countries that if they're truly serious about national security issues (Russia invading Germany?), it's time they paid their own freight. If they question the decision, show them our bank statement.

10. Unless proven to be unfeasible (unless the cupboard is truly bare), insist that every U.S. ambassador speak the native language of the country to which he or she is assigned. Granted, pretty much everyone in the upper echelons of government all over the world now speaks English, but that's not the point. Indeed, it's part of the problem.

In this age of instantaneous communication, ambassadors are largely ceremonial. You don't need a Ph.D. in international relations to be ambassador. Showing the host country that the U.S. respects them enough to send an emissary who speaks their native tongue would be a wonderful public relations move. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I can't over-emphasize how much the average citizen loved hearing us speak their language... even when we butchered it.

David Macaray, an LA playwright and author ("It's Never Been Easy: Essays on Modern Labor," 2nd Edition), was a former labor union rep.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot