Hope and health: the Obama Promise

Last weekend on the NBC-TV late night comedy, Saturday Night Live, the writers presented a spoof of President Obama's accomplishments. As Obama, Fred Armisen checked off a "no" to solving the following problems: healthcare, job losses, Iraq, Afganistan, the economic crisis and several others. Obama received a successful yes for the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Fred did not seem to have his heart in the spoof, performing his worst imitation of Barack to date, nevertheless reflecting the quiet diappointment that seems to be creeping in among some Obama supporters. For a President who just took on the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, perhaps the public is hoping for too much too soon. If history has taught us anything, it's the realization that politics can cause progress to move at a snail's pace. This week the Nobel Prize committee decided to give politics a nudge and awarded Obama the Nobel Peace prize. Some wondered what he had done to deserve the prize. Yet the very idea of someone who is willing to listen to both sides of an issue and willing to negotiate in the true sense of the word is a major step toward some of the world's most pressing problems. Is it wrong to seek to negotiate instead of plunder? Will it become a sign of weakness, rather than strength, to want affordable healthcare for all Americans? The Nobel committee doesn't think so. But the award adds pressure to Obama's already long list of "things to do" to fulfill that hope and promise. If he does nothing else in the first year, he needs to pass some form of health care reform and it appears his Administration is committed to that objective before the year ends. The people who believed in the Obama promise and those who voted for him deserve a portion of the Peace prize. They voted for a change that would foster peace and understanding among all peoples of the planet. Perhaps the committee should have jointly awarded the prize to a host of world leaders,including the heads of North Korea, Iran, the Sudan, and China, forcing all of them to re-evaluate their political and diplomatic approaches to pressing situations and to act in the best interests of all. Just as the people of the U.S. voted for change, so too did the Nobel Prize Committee. Now we need a little patience. Let's hope Obama, given patience and support, can eventually fulfill the promise.