In less than a month, on May 25, Americans will commemorate the 45th anniversary of President Kennedy's 1961 pledge before Congress to send a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s. While the path from the earth to the moon wasn't known at the time, what was certain was the president's commitment to a bold, ambitious goal.
Decades later, another president faces a challenge as daunting as that Kennedy faced in 1961:
Breaking the United States from its dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil. While Kennedy embraced the space race with a pioneering spirit, President Bush has repeatedly told Americans he lacks the "magic wand" to combat the looming crisis.
What was once a can-do attitude coming from the Oval Office has been replaced with a can't-do attitude embraced by the current Commander-in-Chief. A president who once asked of the American people great things has been replaced with a president who runs in panic from one of the greatest challenges in our nation's history. What a difference 45 years makes.
President Bush's shameful can't-do attitude has been especially pronounced since September 11. In the wake of that tragedy, Bush
had the chance to unite Americans as Kennedy had before him. He could have helped end America's addiction to oil, an addiction he still bemoans and still perpetuates five years later. He could have asked scientists to help forge a new way. He could have asked Americans to become a part of the solution. But he didn't.
The president who pledged to be a uniter did anything but, dividing America in pursuit of goals that have only made things worse. He involved us in a
costly war intended to establish a Middle Eastern beachhead for Big Oil. Further, he allowed his friends in the energy industry to set the agenda, prolonging the problem. His alternative energy policy seemed to only exist in his lofty rhetoric, not in the reality-based community.
Today, we're mired in record-high gas prices. Americans nationwide are feeling the pain at the pump, with reports indicating some individuals
selling personal items for gas money. While our wallets suffer, the oil companies prosper. They're enjoying record profits, their leaders
drawing salaries approaching $200,000 a day. These CEOs, who profit from our exploding demand, are fond of telling Americans who live paycheck to paycheck that "We're all in this together." If only that were true.
Where is the leadership? Where is the president mandating that America's will be a hybrid economy within ten years? Where is the president asking that his administration lead the way by replacing appropriate government vehicles with their hybrid or alternative-fuel counterparts? Where is the president locking the best and brightest minds in a room to for once follow through on his promises? Where is the president demanding accountability from his friends in Big Oil?
Again, where is the leadership? I'll tell you where it is:
It isn't. The president's answer to this problem, so far, has been to tell Americans to drive less.
Drive less? Most of us, Mr. President, have already cut back on unnecessary driving because of soaring gas prices. Most of us only drive to and from work. So, would you have us staying home, not doing our jobs? That's not "uniquely American" if you ask me.
While the president is asking us to drive less, his Republican colleagues continue to embrace a dying business model. Blaming
everyone but themselves for the crisis of their creation, they're urging Americans to get behind their plan to drill for oil in the Arctic. So, to recap this plan:
America is addicted to oil. We need to break this addiction. Let's drill for more oil. There's not a bullshit detector out there weak enough to
not raise a red flag over that idea.
Imagine if, 45 years ago, Kennedy responded to calls for a moon mission by saying he didn't have a "magic wand" that could make the seemingly impossible possible. Imagine, too, if Kennedy hadn't asked Americans to serve their nation. Who knows what would have happened had everyone embraced such a can't-do attitude? The very same attitude that permeates the Bush administration.
America is a better place because Kennedy embraced a challenge with hope and determination. Six years into the Bush era, America is still waiting for this president to do the same.
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