Words from My Grandfather

The last few days have kept the American people in suspense as a record number of votes are still being counted to determine the outcome of the presidential election. Joe Biden has offered reassurances that our democratic process is working just as it should, while Donald Trump has tried to undermine the process and cast doubt in the minds of his supporters. 

Carl Spitzer pictured in 2010

During this time I can't help but wonder what my late-grandfather, Carl Spitzer, would have to say about the current situation. Carl, lovingly called Papa by his fourteen grandchildren, was an author and wrote many articles, op-eds and other pieces to share his views on a variety of topics, including politics. He was always eager to discuss these issues and was vocal about his beliefs around social responsibility, equality and respect for all people. He was born in 1925 and lived through many challenging times in history, however, he didn't experience anything quite like we are now. He passed away in 2013, when Barack Obama was still the president of our country. 

I came across the below op-ed column that he wrote in 2009. He praises Obama for his maturity and grace as a president. He states, "That we have a thoughtful, unquestionably mature man in the White House should comfort a nation buffeted and scorned in recent years for its arrogance and bullying. We should rally behind a president determined to balance domestic and international priorities, close torture prisons, restore our nation’s reputation, and work with all nations of the world, friend and foe, to diminish jingoism and pursuit of violent solutions to every dispute."

I think the same can be said today, one candidate assures maturity, yet we cannot expect miracles even if he wins the election. Our country is deeply divided and damaged beyond what seems reparable. We need a leader who supports the democratic process and the American people, fosters international relationships and restores our nation's reputation. The world is watching. 

Op-ed column, Sunday Star, October 18, 2009

Obama assures maturity, not miracles

Carlton E. Spitzer

Presidents have been promoting universal health care for almost a century.  Most got good marks for trying.  None succeeded.  K Street lobbyists for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries that fill campaign coffers of legislators on Capital Hill always succeeded in aborting plans. 

Medicare was written as a single payer government operated system in 1965.  Lobbyists made sure the White House and Capitol Hill turned it into a multi-layered, cumbersome, overly expensive montage favoring industry over patients.  

The battle lines were drawn again last year when candidate Barack Obama called for insuring every citizen, echoing the words of Theodore Roosevelt in the early years of the 20th century.  

For his trouble, Obama, like Roosevelt, was called a socialist rather than a far sighted compassionate leader.   When Obama sought to work across party lines he was said to pander for support.  When he acknowledged Democrats probably had the votes to enact new health legislation he was accused of partisanship.

Obama’s response to criticism, whether it be measured and constructive or wildly off the wall, is to remain calm and assured.  He is a mature leader who really listens when he asks for advice, and weighs decisions carefully.  He does not make instant judgments or shoot from the hip. 

Yet, he has, in just nine fast moving months, addressed a devastating financial crisis he inherited with skillful effectiveness, moved health care legislation to a vote, demanded even handed justice in resolving the 60-year impasse between Israel and Palestine, and sought diplomatic-military balance in removing our presence from Iraq and shoring up Afghanistan’s government and infrastructure.

No doubt the world looks much different to our 44th president from the oval office than it did on the campaign trail.  That has been true of every president.  And Obama’s reassignment of close associates to new positions reflects his awareness that skills vital on the campaign trail can be counter-productive managing the nation’s affairs.

Pundits always talk about “the presidential honeymoon,” speculating on how long it might last after every inaugural ceremony. 

Obama didn’t have long to enjoy his, not with inherited military blunders from the George W. Bush administration, financial chaos resulting from unbridled and unregulated greed on Wall Street, and a tendency of the American people to quickly dismiss the past and seek quick solutions to long festering problems from the new incumbent.

Fair enough, Obama says.  I am the president.  And I must deal intelligently and thoughtfully with all that has happened and plan constructively for the future, setting a new standard for diplomacy and international cooperation by listening attentively to all voices to work toward peace and extract ourselves from war, and acknowledging there are no military solutions to intertwined 21st century challenges.  

Congress is working diligently to reign in Wall Street greed and excesses.  Congress is poised to pass health care legislation.  The process has been like making sausage, and no doubt provisions of the bill will be refined as application affirms the need to make adjustments.  But America will have taken a giant step forward.  

That we have a thoughtful, unquestionably mature man in the White House should comfort a nation buffeted and scorned in recent years for its arrogance and bullying.  We should rally behind a president determined to balance domestic and international priorities, close torture prisons, restore our nation’s reputation, and work with all nations of the world, friend and foe, to diminish jingoism and pursuit of violent solutions to every dispute.

America has matured from slavery, segregation, warehousing the mentally ill and hiding the physically disabled.  We elected an African-American president.  He presents not only a new face to the world, but a new and enlightened philosophy, a refreshingly open and welcoming attitude.  

He is president.  Verbal discontents express impatience and unhappiness with Obama’s policies, personality and proposals.  All presidents have lived with adversaries.  But all of us would be well advised to mirror our president’s calm approach to problem-solving, join him in his plea for bipartisan cooperation in the best interests of the nation, settle for the maturity we missed in recent years, and stop looking for miracles.