President Obama began his last two years in office by taking to the road . The trip, pitched as a preamble to the traditional State of the Union delivered before Congress, is an excellent approach to communications an policy. he would be best served by staying on the road and emailing his speech.
There is no legislative reason to speak in the well of Congress, just a theatrical one. And this President, whose two terms’ eve most significant achievements where whittled away at by relentless opposition, doesn’t need to sit through any more table readings. The benefits are measureable.
On the road, the President stands alone. Before Congress, like an incumbent who agrees to debate the challenger, stature is conferred. On the road, the problems needing solutions are clearer. In the Capital, problems become disassociated from the people they affect. On the road, the feeback is immediate, as is the opportunity to address it. Along Constitution Avenue, the response comes from interest groups who, even with good intention, are reluctant to retire any debt without getting some credit.
Spending time away for Washington, D.C. can create the space and opportunity to stimulate a fresh counter-balance to policy debates brought to a stand-still by hardened arguments led by small and insular groups. It allows for the possibility that the three branches of government — the executive, the legislative and the judicial — might be joined and influenced by new ones, be they regional, state-based, civic or grassroots. Sure, the approach has echoes of the two campaigns the President ran and won, but it ought now be turned to influence more than a political agenda. It can be brought to bear on policy initiatives.
By staying at home, the President makes credible what would otherwise be incredible. On the road, he can be more openly skeptical — and in doing so create a bond with those of us out here who have felt the disconnect first-hand.
That’s why the most effective approach to policy the President can take these next two years is to stay away from the White House. He can begin with a fresh approach to the State of the Union. Phone it in and get closer to solving the problems we all know we have.
