The White House Is Asking for My Advice!! (And Yours, Too!)

This is another hoot.

I got an email today from Nancy-Ann DeParle, White House deputy chief of staff for policy (she was cancelling lunch), to ask me what ideas I had about getting this country moving again.

I quote:

"When President Obama says that we can't wait to put Americans back to work, he's not just talking about the White House. He's talking about all of us. That 'we' is everyone."

I love that "we is everyone" line. There was a long-dead Russian guy named Yevgeny Zamyatin who loved it, too. So much that he wrote a really good book called "We." It was about the Soviet Union's earliest days. I think you know the rest of the story.

Anyway, Ms. DeParle was looking for suggestions from We the People on actions to help the economy "that President Obama can take without waiting on lawmakers to debate legislation or pass a bill."

That brought two thoughts to mind.

The first is that "waiting on lawmakers to debate legislation or pass a bill" is pretty much the definition of republican democracy. Taking time to "debate legislation or pass a bill," in fact, is exactly what "lawmakers" are supposed to do. That's why they're called "lawmakers." (But it's been pretty clear for a couple of years that this White House doesn't put much stock in clear thinking, or even "lawmakers" for that matter.)

The second was that it wouldn't take "waiting on lawmakers to debate or pass" anything for Mr. Obama to resign. But that left me with a truly depressing thought.

Joe Biden as president.

Mr. President, please stay. It's only one more year.

We can wait.

If you want to send your suggestions to Ms. DeParle, click here.