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Michelle DeWitt

Only two words mattered in the world of politics this week: Oil Spill.

Ok, there were probably some other words that came up, but these were definitely the most important.

First, we begin with a little background: The explosion that started the oil spill happened two months ago (April 20). Since then, thousands of gallons of oil have been leaking into the ocean every single day. In spite of a variety of efforts to contain the spill (I seem to remember some kind of metal dome), nothing has worked and the situation gets worse everyday.

This past week, Obama discussed the issue in an oval office address, which was……interesting.

There has been a lot of criticism of Obama’s approach to the oil spill, mainly, arguments that he has done too little, too slowly. My message to those people is that until you decide to strap on some scuba gear, scoot your ass to the bottom of the ocean and plug up the leak, then please be quiet. Do you have a better idea of how to deal with this? Of course you don’t. This is such a train wreck that nobody knows what to do.

On the flip side of that, Obama’s idealism is driving me up the wall. “Yes we can” is great, but it doesn’t plug a leaking oil well. It just doesn’t. We need realistic solutions and we need them now. If Obama doesn’t know what those solutions are, then he needs to find someone who does, and he needs to do so now.

In part of his speech, Obama said, “It’s a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now.” That’s really nice and all, but “faith in the future” doesn’t get the oil out of the ocean. Am I supposed to have faith that people in charge of oil rigs actually know what they’re doing? Am I supposed to have faith that these rigs are being properly regulated so that they are safe and disasters like Deepwater Horizon won’t happen? Because I don’t, not at all.

President Obama needs to leave matters of faith to our religious leaders and take definitive action. I know that there is no quick fix for this and I don’t doubt his commitment to solving this problem, but actions speak louder than words.

Faith may sustain us, but so does seafood and, right now, it is drowning in a pool of crap.

By Michelle DeWitt

As the new politics blogger for College Magazine, I’d like to start by saying welcome and thank you for reading. There is a lot happening in the political scene these days and I’m excited to start a conversation about it. So if there’s something you like or don’t like, leave a comment and let me know.

There is a lot going on in the world right now, so here are some things to keep on your radar.

1)    Arizona immigration law. Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, met with President Obama on Thursday to discuss the highly controversial immigration law that is supposed to take affect in the state on July 29. Will the federal government follow through on its threats to sue Arizona to stop the law from being enacted? What about the plan to send 1,200 members of the National Guard to the Mexico-U.S. border? Stay tuned.

2)    Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Personally, I am ready for this to be repealed just so I can stop hearing about it. The repeal of this law is widely approved of, let’s just have the vote and be done with it. But a simple solution to DADT is as likely as B.P. adequately dealing with the oil spill. Speaking of which…

3)    Disaster in the Gulf. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a calamity of epic proportions that has already caused potentially irreparable damage. The oil is still leaking into the ocean and no one is stepping up to the plate to claim the responsibility of cleaning up the spill. And then there’s the matter of hurricane season that has the potential to make matters even worse.

4)    Election 2010. We are now getting into full swing of a very important season. No, I’m not talking about swimsuit season (though equally important), but rather election season. This November the states throughout the nation will vote for all House seats, 36 Senate seats and 37 gubernatorial offices. 2010 has the potential to drastically shake up the already shaky political climate.

Needless to say it is anything but ‘Summer Lovin’ on Capitol Hill and around the country. So, are you optimistic? Pessimistic? Or has politics just gotten so crazy that you’re incapable of being surprised anymore?

by Chris McGowan

Ben Smith has a good article on Politico this week about Obama’s larger style of governing, which he says is about principled-but-compromised results. Smith says the president is “open to tactical compromise” but possesses a “stubborn constancy of vision” reminiscent of George W. Bush.

This argument is basically a reiteration of the consensus view of ‘Obama politics’: that the president is very willing to tackle major domestic and foreign initiatives, but equally as willing to achieve compromised, and therefore more moderate, victories (see: healthcare, Copenhagen).

Further, Smith says, the president is generally commended for his willingness to take the “long view,” often ignoring “the days and weeks of bad news cycles.”

While I agree with Smith in his general sense of the way Obama and his team work, I also think that his account is missing one crucial element: for Barack Obama, the “larger picture” extends much further than achieving legislative victories or signing treaties. I would argue that the single most striking aspect of Obama’s presidency thus far, and the characteristic that distinguishes him most clearly from his recent predecessors, is his unwillingness to sweep controversial issues under the rug. The president is insisting on improving the political debate in America.

Many on the left have taken issue with the administration’s decision to go through the legislative process to achieve repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, rather than simply issuing an executive order. But the logic of such a decision is not just political. In fact, it would be much easier for Obama to issue an executive order, rather than having a “controversial” issue like gay rights take up so much TV time. But Obama seems to actually want the national conversation.

On foreign policy, the administration seems unwilling to kill the media narrative that its relations with Israel are strained, creating, for the first time in many years, at least some talk about Israeli humanitarian abuses.

In other words, for Obama, the state of the democracy (i.e., the quality of the debate) is just as important as the actual decisions that the government makes.

So, for the media, first of all, but also for all American citizens, here is our opportunity. Obama is taking on big issues that have long been ignored, basically begging us to have the conversations we’ve long avoided having. It is our responsibility to take him up on his offer.

Image from: www.huffingtonpost.com/