Serve Your Country

I'm hoping that the top priority for the Obama Administration, (ahh...I can't tell you how good it feels to write those two words, in fact it felt so good I'm going to do it again..Obama Administration!!!!) will be to fill the position of Treasury Secretary quickly. Robert Rubin has already turned the position down, maybe even without being asked, most likely he thinks that the task is impossible, and he is not willing to fail. That leaves Lawrence Summers, and possibly Jon Corzine. I'm not crazy about any of them, all are graduates of Goldman Sachs, so it's possible that all of them would put the market before the real economy and continue the trend to bail out the rich before much consideration is given to the real economy, which is everyone like you and I, people who have paid into Social Security, people who pay taxes or go to jail, people who are looking for the chance to work at a job for maybe 40 years, get up every morning and punch the clock, bust their asses every day, work as hard as they can to deliver great products and profit to the corporation. America has a nation willing to work for a living, and work hard, but none of the $700 billion bail out money is going towards creating work and opportunity for us, it's going to AIG, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch..................

Obama is not naming any new cabinet members this week.

Aides point out that presidents-elect rarely make cabinet appointments before December. On Sunday, Valerie Jarrett, who is one of Mr Obama's closest friends and advisers, and is tipped for a number of jobs, including senior White House counsel and a possible replacement for Mr Obama's seat in the Senate, said Mr Obama was ruling nothing out in making his appointments.
Among the considerations weighing on Mr Obama's mind were how many Republicans to include in an administration that has billed itself as bipartisan. "In a sense, putting together the cabinet is like a jigsaw puzzle," Ms Jarrett told NBC. "And he wants to make sure it represents the diversity of the country."

You know...I'm not really crazy about the idea of a bi-partisan Cabinet. I mean, how can you say during the campaign that the Bush Administration has ruined the country, and then want to hire people from the party that enabled them to ruin us? If we are rejecting the past, then let's reject it completely, and work towards forming a new future. Why can't we bring the smartest and the most successful to Washington, in this time of our nation's darkest moment? If our most prominent citizens have reaped the benefits of this great country, and become rich and successful, don't they owe us something? Don't Al Gore, and Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet, who have profited from the hard work of America have some obligation to help us in this time of need? There should be a spirit of patriotism, a volunteerism from all citizens, but namely the fortunate ones, who have profited from the sweat of Americans.

I don't mean to sound like a raving communist, but the middle class has born the burden of this country long enough, and we're old now, looking forward to the bingo hall, a condo in Miami, and our children supporting us. Why can't the smartest and most successful people in this country come together to solve the problems that face us in this time of unprecedented need? If the sons and daughters of poor Americans are expected to give their lives defending the liberties of other nations, why can't the sons and daughters of wealthy Americans be called into service for 4 years in a drafty government office, and give back to this country, what this country has worked to give them? If we are calling on volunteers to fight our wars, why can't we call on the brightest and the best to fight for our economic future? Why can't we get a Dream Team in Washington? Would Al Gore and Bill Gates and Paul Krugman give up their day jobs to create real change in technology, the environment, and the economy? Would Bill Clinton take a job as Special Envoy for Peace to the Middle East? Would Colin Powell work to find an exit strategy for our troops in Iraq? Would these men leave their Nobel Prizes and Medals of Honor at the door along with their egos, to build a future for our country?

Now that the election is over, the hard work is just beginning. I wondered last Tuesday night if my blogging days were over, and if I might take a Spanish Class, or learn how to dance the tango. The danger to our nation lies in complacency, those of us who are tired, those of us who have blogged and raised money, and advocated for eight really long years, the danger is that we will forget about the challenges that confront us, having done our duty, we elected the change platform, right? So we're done, we can go take cooking classes, we can spend some time with our grandchildren, right?

Wrong. In our short history, there has never been more of a need for patriotism, never been such an uncertain future, and never been a more important time for American citizens to be engaged in the political process. There has never been such a need for teachers and role models. This is not the time to relax, we have fought long and hard for a different direction, now is the time to walk the talk, to do something extraordinary.

Why not serve your country?

Volunteer. Be a teacher, be a mentor, be a big brother, be something. Do what you can to make the world a better place.

In the long run, we will all rest easier knowing we tried.

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