"We could steal time, just for one day. We can be heroes, for ever and ever. What d'you say"

"We could be heroes."  So who is willing to step up and be first.  Because people are hurting, and we need action, not gridlock.
Which leader of this free nation, is willing to  put aside political ambitions and  dare to solve?   Who will recognze that a country in crisis and it's solutions should rise above partisan upsmanship (or upwomanship)?  Who is willing to put their re-election chances on the line, and do what is right?   And while job security is important to most American, I am pretty sure that if a sacrifice for the country leads to the loss of a job, most elected leaders will land on their feet.  If they need inspiration, perhaps they can look to our service men and woman.

As citizens we are poised, dare said in dire need of historic collaborations in Washington.  Given the stakes, and early indicators it is not enough to hope that our leaders will accomplish this by osmosis.  We, the relevant chorus, must encourage our leaders, whether we lean left or right, or horizontal.  Like a patient boss, we must encourage them when they perform well.  Praise early and often.  And we must remind them if they screw up the narrative.    If the Sunday political tak-show results mean anything, they are screwing up the narrative.   The top priority from the exit poll was not "stalemate policy developments in Washington."  It was fix the economy.  This requires collaborations.  The need for compromise, collaboration and solutions have been a unmet priority of our political process for the last 10 years.  Something has got to change.

We had a great opportunity with the Bush years, when the symbollic Prince Hal (typecast down to his reputation for drinking, cocaine, and watching baseball) could have become the veritable Henry V.   If you recall, when he campaign he promised to reach across the aisle, as he did in the Texas legistlature.  We thought perhaps the rightful heir would exemplify leadership and courage.   Our national and economic well being could have been his Agincourt.   Instead, we do lament the scars from the witless band of morons, from this day to the next.

But perhaps this could be a sixth act.  Or new play altogether.  It cannot be the same tragedy, or at t's best a tragic comedy.  Titus Andronicus meets The Hangover.  "Brother, for in that name doth nature plead,—has anyone seen Carlos?"

Our heroic role could be to vociferously hold our elected officials to the legislative priorities as we seem, and we experience them.  Separate in apart from their own "beltway" ambitions.

The economic stimulus is the primary goal.  Let us move away from partisan acrimony and pyrrhric victories.  The staggering losses are the unemployed, the uninsured, the overtaxed and the underheard.   Does it do any good for both parties to declare from the start that they will not work together?   Where is the value if one party says it will work with the adminstration, but only on their own terms?  Doesn't sound hopeful.

The President and the Congress need to encourage corporate American to spend the 2 Trillion in capital, to make investments in jobs and technologies (domestically).  They need to reach accord on a healthcare crisis.  This doesn't meant they should keep it as it, or destroy it altogether.  Compromise, that is what we pay them for.    And if they cannot force everyone to pay for health insurance figure out a way to curb abuses (like people only buying health insurance when they are sick- I guess that would be again to dropping my car insurance, and then trying to purchase some right after a fender bender.....it does seems a little scetchy).

They need to figure a way to fundamentally change the discourse in Washington.  Sending Republicans and Democrats to the capital should not be a zero-sum enterprise.    It's not all left, or or right?  We need to move away from the concept of "I'm right and you suck."   We need to embrace the concept of "We have good ideas individually and will come up with the best ideas collectively.".

But we haven't seen a lot of that in politics for a long time.   And the news from "Meet the Press", Fox News, etc is not that encouraging today.  It is scary but we have to step up, be heroic and move into they great unknown of collaboration.   We have to force our representatives to do this.

Here is an opportunity to act on principal and the overall betterment of the country, not just the blue, red or orange amongst us.