A paradox of presidential politics is that it requires a degree of hubris to run for the office, but it takes great humility to do the job. The first test of any new president is his ability to switch the machine built to win the campaign to the task of running a government. For Barack Obama, this may be a difficult challenge.
Obama has pulled off a remarkable feat. As a virtual unknown, he defeated a field of top leaders in his party, including Hillary Clinton, to win the Democratic nomination and then went on to build a great army that was able to overcome doubts about his experience, defeat the threat of racism in the electorate and a Republican campaign designed to portray him as a terrorist- connected foreign element, pushing a socialist, or even Marxist agenda.
Obama, his immediate team of advisors and his legion of supporters have a right to a certain swagger and a right to claim a mandate for change. They have achieved the improbable. It’s said that when a person decides to run for president he must be able to look in the mirror and say, “I’m the only person who can do this job. I’m the only person who understands what this country needs.” That’s the degree of hubris — exaggerated pride or self confidence — necessary to take the first step. As recently as two weeks ago, Obama showed he still has it, when he joked at the Al Smith dinner in New York that his, “greatest strength is my humility.”
Let’s Hope He’s Right
Given his lack of experience, Obama’s self confidence is scary. He appears to truly believe that he can change Washington, the country and perhaps even the world through the force of his personality and his ability to find common ground. Let’s hope that he’s right, because if he is wrong, we may be in for four years of presidential humiliation.
As he builds his administration and moves to the White House, Obama’s biggest challenge may be controlling his own troops. Like any conquering army, they will be eager to impose their will on others, eager to enjoy the spoils of victory. He must impose a sense of humility.
The news media focuses on the accomplishments of the first 100 days in office, but those first few months are also when the rookie mistakes are made by winning campaign veterans who can’t segue from partisan warrior to public servant.
George W. Bush largely avoided the “we’re in charge now” syndrome, but only because he learned from the experiences of Bill Clinton, who suffered through a string of scandals in his first year, stemming mainly from a team — including the First Lady — who brought an us vs. them approach to the White House.
Obama has a similar problem on Capitol Hill. You will remember the boastful claims made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid when Democrats won control of Congress in 2006. They were going to change the world. The people had spoken and they were taking over. It didn’t work out that way, but now with larger majorities and a Democrat in the White House, President Obama will be under intense pressure from the congressional leadership to impose a partisan world view on the government. Winners don’t usually share power and while Obama may have campaigned on a promise to end politics as usual, Pelosi and Reid did not.
Joe Biden warned, “This new president will be tested in the first six months.” In politics, your friends can do more damage than your enemies and often do.
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
