President Obama should fire White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and hire me as his top adviser. Don't laugh. I can almost guarantee higher poll numbers for the president if he brings me on board.
The first thing I would do is declare a truce with Fox News. Right now, the president is spending more time launching offensives against FNC than against the Taliban. The American people want Osama bin Laden's head on a stick not Glenn Beck's. What exactly does attacking FNC get the president? Plus, it's hypocritical. Didn't Barack Obama win the Nobel Peace Prize?
Next, I would suggest that the commander-in-chief actually listen to his top general in Afghanistan and his secretary of defense. After listening, the president would immediately send 40,000 more troops to provide additional security in that God-forsaken place. As a trusted adviser, I would remind the president that the United States military is a vital enterprise and deserves a chance to win in Afghanistan.
After accomplishing those two things, Obama and I would get lunch. Then, back to work.
Bringing down health care costs is huge for the president, and I would advise him to drop the so-called "public option" and concentrate on increased insurance competition across state lines. If insurance companies could compete nationwide, health premiums would fall. And if you add tort reform to blunt the out-of-control medical lawsuit industry, doctors and medical personnel could charge less because their enormous medical malpractice bills would shrink.
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