For the first time in history, the credit of the United States has been downgraded. As a measure of the United States creditworthiness, Standard & Poor pointed to the political environment of the United States as being incompatible with a nation that will do whatever is necessary to see to it that all bondholders are made whole. They made a political judgment based on their observation of actions and positions of the political system.
© Reuters
This is a tremendous error in my view. It is one that seriously damages the credibility of Standard and Poor far more than the United States. But, it is a judgment, even if the analysis is seriously flawed. Because they based their decision on politics rather than close analysis of the United States' wealth and ability to print its own money, S&P injected a political idea into the body politic. The idea that the United States is no longer the best bet. That the nation is in decline.
No matter if it is true or false, the sense of national decline there in the national discussion. S&P's action only provides the opportunity to focus on it. It seems to me that there is nobody more able to bring clarity, assign blame, and focus the national discussion in a way that leads people to come to the right conclusion than the President of the United States. This historic moment is an opportunity for a president to define our times and show us the way forward.
Pivotal moments in the life of a nation are almost always defined by the leader. This is one of those times. Only presidential leadership can make sense of it all. Only a president can show us the way forward. The times call for it.
As a political matter, this President, President Obama, has had to encounter more than one of these defining moments. The almost total failure of the automobile manufacturing industry is another that comes to mind. While President Obama stepped up and saved that industry, and rightly so, he did not use it as a political opportunity to define the times we are in. To provide context and clarity on the way forward. To point the nation in the right direction on the proper role of the federal government in our society.
This is the time to outline the broad vision for where we are headed. Not to negotiate in back rooms. Not to sit back and let Standard & Poor's assessment of America settle into the consciousness of the public: that we are without direction, without a plan, and without ability to handle the challenges that are before us. Certainly not to abdicate responsibility for doing so to a dysfunctional Congress or a radical fringe element that has controlled the parameters of debate and resolution in Washington. This is the time, right now, to provide understanding and meaning to the national zeitgeist.
I call on President Obama to step up and make it plain. Where we are and yes, assigning blame where it belongs. After that, a vision of where we are going and a plan to get there. Either the president will define the times, or the times or someone else will. A President of the United States is always relevant at historic moments.
This president has said "our history will not be defined for us, but by us." Now is the time to define.