Bigger government? More debt? What's Obama really doing?

Obama has said very clearly that things are going to be VERY DIFFERENT this time around.

He said very clearly in both his inauguration speech and his speech to Congress (and throughout the campaign if you listened closely), that he is not in favor of big government, but of a government that works. That government must act responsibly and get results. Programs that get results will continue, those that do not will end.

He has also said that he WILL NOT allow our future generations to be saddled with a burdensome debt.

FYI, I am not a democrat, but the facts are that the debt grew by previously unseen, staggering amounts under both Reagan and Bush, and we had a surplus under Clinton. So it is clear that those who have professed that government is the problem are the ones who have grown it the most and done so irresponsibly.

Obama has said that the question is no longer about the dogma of "big goverment" or "small government," (the two arguments that have typically divided Republicans and Democrats ideologically) but about whether it works. The real issue is whether our leaders are being responsible or not.

While I agree that spending money you don't have is not a policy that is desireable or sustainable, if you see what is happening in the context of the bigger picture, as a means to reach his stated goals, you will see that the investments that are being made are necessary to correct the mismanagement of government for the last 50+ years.

If you are in a hole and there is no way to get out, and the walls on all sides are crumbling all around you, the only way out is to dig deeper and use that dirt to build a stairway. And then to make sure that it never happens again by changing the very structure of how the problem happened in the first place. (Special interest favoritism and ideology rather than facts, qualifications and accountability for results.)

His laying out of guidelines for responsible government (on everything from employee discrimination, to Congressional earmarks, to government contract bidding, to lobbying rules, to transparency and accountability, to dialoging with those that do not agree with you) and his call for Americans in the private sector to be responsible (from parenting to wall street) is why he deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt in the short term to get us out of this crisis.

Obama is a man of his word. While not perfect, he has begun the process of rebuilding, while refusing to demonize those who are demonizing him. If he is not assassinated, he will succeed, and America will be stronger than it has ever been as a result of his leadership.

Check out this great article from the Washington Post: White House Ethics? 'Mr. No' Knows