Signs of a Failing Presidency

A letter to President Obama:

I see a monumental crisis for our country. The headlines will read, “President Resigns.” The television news will broadcast 24/7 as the historic events unfold. Mock coffins will be dragged through the streets as for a funeral. You will have given up the office of president of the United States of America.

Politicians and pundits will wonder how they could have missed seeing the tell-tales. Steve Kroft will rue that he berated you for being punch drunk when he should have given sympathy to a man in deep distress. Jay Leno will publicly apologize for encouraging a joke about handicapped people. The White House social secretary will regret allowing you to choose a specious gift for the British prime minister. The secretary of state will ask forgiveness for not assigning an aide to check your diplomatic mail. Many people in the print and broadcast media will search for answers as to why they failed to delve into the life of the man they supported for president. And people all around the country will seek absolution for having allowed a political neophyte to take on the challenges of the highest elective office in the nation.

But in all the places where somebody should have stepped up and helped, you alone are to blame. The office of president is too big for one person to fulfill by himself. You thought that if able to be elected president, then presidential expertise would follow. When things became chaotic, you could have saved yourself by delegating a few of the details of office. But instead of looking for good people to staff the Treasury Department, you let policy-making positions set idle. Instead of looking for qualified nominees for his cabinet, you supported people who don’t pay their taxes. Instead of trusting your adviser’s opinions on matters of state, you thought politicking is what the people of the country most want.

What a sad time of crisis in America. But Mr. Obama, it’s not too late. You’ve got to get help to change your policies for the country, to manage the demands of the presidency, and to put your emotional life back into order. Time is short. If you don’t make changes soon, the only thing worse than resigning will be to stay on.