The U.S. Women’s soccer team takes the field somewhere in Germany today within a hand ball’s length of a World Cup championship. Not too far away, in the much beleaguered European Union, a number of U.S. men golfers sit near the top as final round play commences at the British Open. Whether on the international front or the domestic stage, the U.S. metaphorically could sure use a winner.
We need our swagger back. We need our confidence. We need the old, on the golf course, Tiger Woods.
The talk the last few weeks has not been what makes this country the greatest the world has ever seen. “We are not going to pay our bills”. “We cannot live within our means”. “We cannot come up with a grand bargain.” Trust me, if the NFL players and owners can agree on a new contract, our leaders in Washington should be able to solve this debt ceiling debate.
But that is only the symptom. We need a plan. We need a go-forward strategy that is clear and articulate, and one that most Americans can buy into. We need our President to lead from the front. We need congressional leaders to stop making pledges. We need to ask the American people, not just our military, to make sacrifices. We need everyone to step up their game, including me and you, to make our country stronger and more focused, like the athletes representing us on the field today.
The sign of America’s greatness are all around us. We are creating new companies that worldwide investors are valuing at billions of dollars. Some of these new technologies are helping bring down dictators and awaken a global thirst for freedom. The American people, despite the hard economic times, continue to be generous and philanthropic in the help of others.
Give the American people a challenge, a direction, a focus, and we will get it done. Let’s all be in it as a team. Let’s not spend money we don’t have and let’s spend the money we do have effectively, let’s try and hire more people, let’s do better in school, let’s keep more of our energy dollars at home, let’s be reasonable but disciplined how we cut our deficits, let’s make commitments that we keep and let’s try and be nicer to each other, whatever political party you support.
Just watch the U.S. women today. They may not play the most beautiful style of soccer, but they are a team with a goal and purpose. They refuse to lose. They sacrifice and give it their all. They represent the best in us and we should act more like them.
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