Obama turns running Washington into a game of Chess

One of the most frustrating things for pundits, reporters, journalist and commentators to do is to predict what this president will do next or what his reasons were for making he moves that he has already.  After thinking about it for quite some time the only explanation that I can offer is to think of his moves as moves one would make on a chess board.

In the campaign for president, he positioned himself as against the War in Iraq and talking with enemies that didn’t like us much.  To his competitors and over-all news junkies, this was seen as a naïve and unintelligent move.  What it seems to have amounted to now is a much more acceptance of American policies and because those who did not like us was mainly using the information that they had heard or seen from distant sources, they were taken back when they finally sat down and talk to this man and his administration.  They learned that he really was about saying in public what he said in private.  Still to some, it was not enough and probably never will be.

As president he took on a lot all at once and may said that he was trying to do too much and therefore will probably not get anything done.  Others said he was doing too little because they did not hear much about the issue that they cared most about being addressed as often as they thought he should have.  His critics saw it as a sign of weakness when he compromised instead of a sign of strength.  What occurred was the most productive House of Representatives in history, more substantial bills passed than ever in a congress and a lame duck session out of this world?  Today people still do not wish to credit him with anything or figure out how he was able to get so much done is so little time.

His recent move is to freeze discretionary spending while asking for $53 billion dollars for high speed rail to boost job creation.  Many wonder how this is possible but few take a few minutes to ask the question because it may prove more advantageous to the ratings just to assume the answer.  The answer is a chess match between this executive branch and the rest of the country.  The executive branch are well aware that so many are standing against any success that this branch may have but they also know that eventually the American public is going to get fed up with the opposition just trying to block his every chess move.  Thinking that just blocking his moves will result in a win when that is not how the game is really played.

In order to win n a chess match, you have to capture your opponent’s king, blocking only leads to a stalemate and do not advance this country.  Any decent chess player knows this; a better chess player can see their moves before they make them but a master sees the entire board and several moves ahead.  Obama knows that this match will never be won in two or three moves but making a calculated decision on the outcome of each move could eventually give him the game because what’s at stake is much more important than any person or party.  What is at stake is a better America.