Oh, By the Way, Mr. President – Are We Doing Too Much?

The last week has seen a plethora of issues suddenly come to the forefront for the Obama Administration.  First, there was the McChrystal Report on Afghanistan that called for more troops.  After that, there was global warming, the G-20 Summit, all of the global economic issues that emerged from Pittsburgh, and the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue (or lack thereof).  Healthcare reform is clearly a topic of debate, and the ongoing issues of the economic recovery, the economic recovery, and the economic recovery continue to swirl in the media.  Then, late in the week, Iran reenters the picture with accusations of uranium enrichment going on someplace inside of Iran, despite international opposition.  Whew!!  Doesn’t it make your head swim?

There is growing concern – on both sides of the aisle – that the Obama Administration has too many ongoing fronts.  Although I’m not an expert in history, I am reminded that our most successful Presidents have focused on a short list – not a long list – of changes for driving their agendas.  At the time, I was not a Reagan supporter, but I did admire his focus and ability to get things done.  We seem to need that kind of focus now.  All of the issues I mentioned are important, but the frenetic pace of too much, too fast has some of us concerned about where the healthcare reform efforts – let alone all of the other issues – will end up? 

While I firmly believe that economic, international, and regional issues are all important (I really couldn’t make a recommendation on which one to take off the list), I also believe that healthcare reform is one of the MOST important issues facing the nation on both a short-term and long-term basis and for cultural, social, and economic reasons.   Finally, I don’t think that the plethora of issues facing our nation should be used as a political net to entangle us in a dialogue that sets aside our focus.  At the same time, we need to sustain and maintain our focus in the coming months.  But, I – like many – am increasingly concerned about the ability of the Administration to take on the magnitude of change under consideration…

The views and opinions expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Dell Services or its affiliates.