Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
Intelligence, persistence, focus, and savvy are characteristics that President Barack Obama has always possessed in abundance.
When he announced his candidacy for Commander-in-Chief, people predicted failure was inevitable.
When Rev. Jeremiah Wright became the "militant black man" heard round the world, pundits declared the Obama campaign dead in the water.
As right-wing revisionists unearthed a loose association between ex-Weatherman and retired University of Illinois at Chicago professor, William Ayers, supporters sighed in defeat, and tucked their hopes of change back in the corner.
And when Obama apparently caved into Republican demands to continue the tax bail-out for the wealthiest Americans, liberal media lambasted the loss of his principals, and some voiced their concern that he may even lose his party's nomination in 2012.
Through all of the upheaval, and uncertainty, one thing has remained constant, and that is the cool, self-assured demeanor our President.
In just a brief time span, he has passed, with major objection from his own party, the most significant tax legislation in a decade, the most comprehensive health care reform since President Lyndon B. Johnson's Medicare, and was the catalyst behind the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Now, true to his pledge to "seek a new agreement by the end of this year [with Russian President Medvedev] that is legally binding and sufficiently bold," President Obama, with days to spare and buoyed by strong bi-partisan support, pushed through the ratification of a new S.T.A.R.T. (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), with Russia by a decisive vote of 71-26.
President Obama called the fresh S.T.A.R.T. "the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades," and at least 13 Republicans, breaking rank with the two senior Republican senators to support the legislation, agree with him.
"We know when we've been beaten," Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah told reporters on Tuesday, hours before the Senate voted 67-23 (including 11 Republicans) to move the legislation forward.
"This is the kind of issue that is outside of politics," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a televised interview Tuesday. "It's really an issue of national security."
In a major speech in Prague last April, Obama laid out his vision and his purpose, and today, he is closer to making it a reality:
"In many ways, nuclear weapons represent both the darkest days of the Cold War, and the most troubling threats of our time. Today, we've taken another step forward by -- in leaving behind the legacy of the 20th century while building a more secure future for our children. We've turned words into action. We've made progress that is clear and concrete. And we've demonstrated the importance of American leadership -- and American partnership -- on behalf of our own security, and the world's."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said debate on the treaty had been "open, honest and thorough."
"This broadly bipartisan ratification sends a clear message to the world: America's leadership on nuclear nonproliferation is strong and unwavering," he said in a statement.
In the midst of the petty Beltway games and punditry that has dominated the political landscape since the dawning of the Obama Administration, true progress has silently been brokered. It its true that red and blue ideological battles have polarized the country, but at least we can all agree that no amount of money matters if we stand constantly in fear of a nuclear holocaust.
While many progressives are still simmering, angered by the lack of fight in our President, he has proven once again that he is playing chess, not checkers.
The level of strategic planning needed to pull out this victory was only accomplished through the sheer focus of President Obama, even when it seemed that he was potentially undermining his re-election efforts.
It's been a long time since I've said this, but "Congratulations, Mr. President. Job well done."
Check. And Mate.