Day: January 19, 2009

The Obama Presidential Connection: Lincoln and FDR, Yes, but Jefferson, too

Barack Obama has made it clear that he admires Abraham Lincoln. He followed the same train route into Washington Lincoln used for his first inaugural; he plans to take the oath of office on Lincoln’s bible; he has read Lincoln biographies and writings searching for guidance on leadership.

Franklin Roosevelt is another president identified by Obama’s transition team as a president to study. FDR took office in 1933 in the midst of a horrendous economy much like Obama faces today.

However, a third president who should share the spotlight during Obama’s historic inauguration is Thomas Jefferson. In fact, Jefferson’s first inaugural address mirrored the goal Obama established as a core value of his presidential run – to overcome harsh political dissension and bring the country together.

Following one of the more bitter campaigns in American presidential history, Jefferson attempted with his inaugural address to bridge the political schism in the country. Jefferson famously said, “But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.”

What If California Could File Bankruptcy?

Just think: if California could seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Court, let’s assume that states can actually do this for a moment, a Bankruptcy Judge could then oversee the knawing, energy-sapping, Gordian Knot of a $42Billion deficit, crushing contractual and pension obligations, and the imminent lack of financing opportunities facing this state as our credit rating plummets. What could a Bankruptcy Judge do that our Legislature and Governor cannot?

For one thing, if California could file a Petition in Bankruptcy under Chapter 9, Title 11 of the United States Code, a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code available only to “municipalities,” it might rescue our state from financial oblivion when we have simply run out of options to restructure our debts. That is the essence of why our federal Constitution provides for Bankruptcy as a remedy in the first place – to give the Debtor another chance.

Odds & Ends – January 19, 2009

Some odds and ends from the past week: