Looking Back, Looking Ahead

In the many, many, many accounts and impressions of this historic election I have watched and read today, I found Michael Gerson’s particularly insightful.

Gerson, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, wrote in The Washington Post how and why, as a former insider, he takes seriously the somber responsibility Barack Obama has inherited.

Gerson agrees that, like all new presidents, Obama will have a honeymoon period, which will be followed by the realization that he is not immune to the bitter partisan divide. Obama will grapple with problems known and unknown, and from the inside, Gerson says, “You gain an appreciation for the conflicted choices others have faced — and for the untamed role of history in frustrating the best of plans. It becomes easier to understand a president’s challenges and hard to question his motives.”

Gerson argues that while some Obama critics will delight in any sign that he is struggling, it will be harder for him, Gerson, thanks to his view on the inside.

“I remember the vivid days of possibility that followed a presidential victory. I happened to be in the Roosevelt Room in January 2001 just as the portrait of Teddy Roosevelt, heroic on horseback, was moved over the fireplace, where it hangs during Republican administrations. And I know that someone, feeling the same hope and burden I felt, will be watching when Franklin Roosevelt is moved back to the place of honor,” wrote Gerson.

Gerson’s glimpse inside offers a lesson for us — in looking back on Bush and in looking ahead to Obama.

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