Obama's Opportunity

This is a unique moment and expectations for change are soaring.

Yet the early warning signals seem to indicate that Obama is likely to "stay the course" in too many respects. The President Elect tapped a member of the Clinton Old Guard to become Chief of Staff. The Vice President Elect is a member of the foreign policy establishment. Plans appear in place to increase the troop levels in Afghanistan and maintain the current Administration's Secretary of Defense.

Although it seems that real change could come if the new President has the will and imagination to think outside the box.

Imagine he ends "race, sex and ethnicity" based preference programs. With a Black man in the Presidency does affirmative action really have a place in American society?

Imagine he brings home the troops stationed in Japan and Germany. After all the war they won ended almost 65 years ago and the Soviet threat evaporated about eighteen years ago. Is it really appropriate to enforce a "Pax Americana" on the world any more?

Imagine he endorses a National Initiative to actually give the people the right to decide important policies rather than allowing the current corrupt system to continue without a check and balance. My personal favorite or all the possible forms of National Initiative is at "http://www.ni4d.org" and you can vote for it today. What if the President Elect were to endorse this concept?

These are just a few ideas. You no doubt have others equally outside the box and perhaps better than those offered by The Rainmaker. And, the new Administration has invited us to participate in suggesting audacious ideas. They have created a web site at "http://change.gov" where you can offer your suggestions. Although skepticism is tempting, what do you have to lose by offering a suggestion or several?