Cover Story

As the editor and publisher of a business magazine on retailing, I let my staff have wide latitude with the articles they wrote. They decided which topics to cover and how to frame the issues involved. In short, I was a mostly hands-off editor.

Except when it came to main feature articles, the ones usually reserved for cover stories. Those articles commanded my interest. If I disagreed with a writer’s premise and presentation, I would counsel change. If the writer resisted, I permitted a rebuttal. But if I remained unconvinced and the writer continued to persist, I invoked my authority as chief editor, and my responsibility to lead, to run the story the way I wanted it to read.

A little more than a year ago I had high expectations for progressive, thoughtful leadership at the highest national level. Today, I am a frustrated citizen, frustrated that Barack Obama, along with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, have allowed both Republican and Democrat senators and congressmen to usurp their leadership roles. Obama, in particular, is trying to be a conciliator. All fine and dandy. But what we need is a leader, someone who viscerally demonstrates he was elected president because of his ideas and programs, not because he possessed the traits of a nursery school teacher trying to get all the kiddies to play nice together.

Reid and Pelosi, with Obama’s assistance, must strong arm, yes, strong arm, their members to vote the party line. Pass legislation through reconciliation, just like the GOP did when it was in power but lacked the super majority needed to fend off a filibuster. Stop being Mr. Nice Guys. There’s too much at stake.

A few weeks ago the president, his secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff came out in favor of allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the armed services. Last week, two top generals testified they opposed such a move. Fine. They are constitutionally allowed to express opinions. But let them do so as private citizens. If they can’t support their commander in chief, the defense secretary and the top ranking military officer, they should either resign or be fired for insubordination. Sometimes, you need to kick some ass to show you really mean what you say. Bush fired the general who disagreed with the assessment of how many troops it would take to control Iraq. Bush was criticized for it, but he showed conviction, however wrong he turned out to be. Obama has to back up words with action.

Obama let the health care debate be framed by others, inside and outside his party. Last week he tried to corral kittens at the health care forum at Blair House. Nice theater. Poor leadership. Obama was elected with the largest majority in decades in the House and Senate. He has squandered the opportunity to use that leverage to enact his agenda.

I am proud that we have a cerebral president. But I want a little more action, more leadership. I want to support a second Obama term based on accomplishments, not out of fear of Palin or Romney or some other far-right yahoo who believes that tearing down government is the answer to our national problems.

At the end of the day, who’s imprint will be on the cover story for this administration? Obama’s or someone else’s?