David Brook's "The Magic Lever": What About Leadership?

In his New York Times op-ed of today's date entitled "The Magic Lever" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/opinion/12brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion), David Brooks concludes that there is no one "magic lever" which can set the economy aright:

"The tragedy is that in Barack Obama and John Boehner we have leaders who would like to do something big. They seem to know that you need bipartisan cover if you want to really cut spending. They seem to know circumstances for deficit reduction will only get worse in the years ahead.

But they are bracketed on all sides — by the tax cut and Medicare brigades, by the wonks hatching budget gimmicks that erode trust, by political hacks who don’t want to lose their precious campaign issues: tax cuts forever, Medicare spending without limit.

Mostly, they are buffeted by the proud, by those who think they have a magic lever to control human destiny and who will not compromise it away. This is the oldest story known to man."

I agree and disagree with Brooks. There is indeed no single "magic lever" to place the economy back in a growth mode, bringing jobs and hope to millions of Americans. On the other hand, I also believe that in the absence of leadership from the White House, economic growth cannot be set in motion, and nowhere was that lack of leadership, i.e. leadership from behind, more evident than at the US embassy in Damascus yesterday. What does the US embassy in Damascus have to do with the US economy? Nothing and everything.

Yesterday, there was a premeditated, government orchestrated, mob assault upon the US embassy compound in Damascus and the US ambassador's residence. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the message from Syrian President Assad to US President Obama was clear: Assad will brook no interference from US ambassador Ford, who on Thursday and Friday visited the Syrian city of Hama, together with the French ambassador to Syria. Hama is where Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad murdered 20,000-40,000 civilians (the exact number will never be known) in 1982 in order to suppress a rebellion, and where there have recently been mass demonstrations in opposition to Bashar al-Assad.

A few facts about the US embassy in Damascus:

• There had been no ambassador to Syria following the direct involvement of Bashar al-Assad in the murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a friend of the West, in 2005.
• Bypassing Senate confirmation and seeking to avoid public scrutiny by acting while many are on holiday, Obama appointed Robert Ford as ambassador to Syria at the end of 2010.
• Obama has rejected demands to recall Ford as ambassador notwithstanding Assad's murderous repression of the recent civilian insurrection in Syria.

How did Obama respond to yesterday's attack upon the US embassy, which amounts to an attack upon US territory? State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told a news briefing:

"We consider that the Syrian government has not lived up to its obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomatic facilities. It's absolutely outrageous."

That's all? Business as usual? Obama's foreign policy has been characterized by overtures to the world's most brutal dictatorships, including Iran and Syria, but this has backfired in his face. He has been too slow to acknowledge that Iran is moving full speed ahead with its nuclear weapons development program, and was among the last in the West to condemn Syrian barbarism directed against civilian demonstrators. True leadership from behind.

Back to the economy: The crisis, including the problem of the debt ceiling, was there for all to see, but Obama was too slow to react. You will recall that before deciding to escalate US involvement in Afghanistan, Obama ruminated over the issue for months. Once again, Obama's inability to lead - this time as it pertains to the economy - rises to the foreground.

As acknowledged by Brooks, there is no one "magic lever" for curing the economy. However, economic recovery cannot begin without the confidence of Americans in the leadership capabilities of their president, which are sorely lacking. There are various paths to recovery, but Obama has spent far too much time scratching his head at the junction.