Finally ... Barack Comes Back To Burbank.

Wow, interesting day today at NBC, as none other than President Obama is in the house! Most days, being part of one of the few remaining departments still located on or near the mostly-vacated Burbank lot can be kind of a drag, but today is certainly a fun day to be here in "beautiful, downtown Burbank." I mean, how many other people can say that the President visited their workplace? Truth be told, I doubt I will actually see Obama today except while watching a live feed of his appearance on The Tonight Show, but I will live vicariously through our department's current NBC Page, who has been tasked to work the Tonight Show taping, as today's show seems to be "all hands on deck" for the Pages. Yeah, today is definitely one of those days where I wouldn't mind ditching my cubicle and donning the old Page uniform for a bit, if only to get outside and be where all the action is.

In any case, today seemed like an appropriate day to get back to a subject I haven't really touched on in a while, that being politics.

Politics are on my mind of late ...



---- For one thing, my dad - David Baram - is in the final stretch of a special election in Connecticut, where he is vying for the position of State Representative. If you are a CT resident and reside in District 15, make sure to get out and vote on March 24th! -------




- But aside from that, I do want to talk a bit about Obama. After a period that saw a lot of grumbling from the peanut gallery, and some truly scary rhetoric from the opposition (Rush Limbaugh, who I basically consider a joke and not someone even worthy of discussing), Obama is now finally enjoying a round of favorable reviews.

Personally, when I look at the big picture, I can't help but feel good that in many ways, America is getting back on track. To preface, I think too much time and effort is spent by the media dissecting the economy and the ins and outs of the administrations' stimulus plan. The way I see it, the important thing is to repeal the Bush economic policies that helped get us here in the first place (his tax cuts, for example), and to clamp down on the corporate waste and greed. After that, to me it's just a matter of time and growing consumer confidence.

We're not going to see immediate turnaround in the economy, but I don't know how anyone could think we're on an inferior path to turn that corner than we were under Bush. We'll get there. The hole we've dug ourselves into is deep, but we'll get there. And in the meantime, Obama has helped reprioritize the budget towards things that will actually have real, longterm benefit - clean energy, science, and education. Wow, what a concept.

Obama has already enacted so many simple yet crucial policy changes. The most important of which is lifting the old bans on stem cell research. It's about time. The old, nonsensical views on this important research have no place in a field where there is important work to be done. Perhaps now we can get back in the business of working to cure and prevent the diseases that have plagued us all in modern times. Like I said, it's about time.

Obama has also already extended his hand to the world and shown that he is not going to continue Bush's "Us vs. Them" mentality of foreign policy. Obama's interview on Arab television was an important moment - Obama was clear and forthright but also open and non-confrontational. Who knows if better relations with the Arab world are possible in the near-term, but at least we can work towards it. Similarly, the closing of Gitmo is an important step towards showing the world that we lead by example. It sounds a bit lofty and abstract, but man, isn't about time we led using hope rather than fear as a primary motivator?

I think people underestimate the effect that the overall idealogy of an administration has on the country. The fact is, under Obama, we are back on track. There are stumbling blocks, and problems like the economic crisis won't go away overnight. But in the meantime, there's no reason why our President can't multitask and get to work on making issues like energy, the environment, foreign policy, and scientific advancement a priority. It's this combination of well-placed ideals and work ethic that has thus far given me confidence in Obama.

The clincher would be if he makes a return visit to The Tonight Show once Conan takes over in June.

And on that note, Baram out.