Obama must govern from the centerAs we look forward to 2009, the national picture is filled with some serious challenges for America but also plenty of opportunities. President-elect Barack Obama will have to juggle a number of domestic and foreign policy crises, including recovering from the economic meltdown, managing two wars, monitoring the volatile situation in the Middle East, saving the Social Security system, fighting drug violence in Mexico, reauthorizing the "No Child Left Behind" education reform law, achieving comprehensive immigration reform, resisting union-provoked protectionism in U.S. trade policies, and creating more jobs at home. In contrast with the liberal rhetoric that helped him win the Democratic nomination, Obama will have to govern from the center to be successful. His most important job will be keeping America safe, something that President George W. Bush managed to do after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In the process, Obama will no doubt continue to disappoint his liberal supporters, as he did with some Cabinet picks and his invitation to the Rev.
Obama also has ample opportunities — chief among them, the chance to inspire Americans to reconnect with the American dream and reject the pessimism and sense of entitlement that plagues many of their countrymen. And he can lead by example and show the world that our best days are still ahead. This isn't the time for Americans to give up, or wallow in despair, or expect government to come to the rescue. Nor is this the time to close our borders, or close off trade routes. It is true that we're facing difficult times, and that things will probably get worse before they get better. But we've been here before. Ours is an exceptional country not because it lacks challenges but because it meets them head-on. REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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