Commentary: ‘It’s the economy, Mr. President’

We have an impressive new President. He has proven without a shadow of a doubt that he is capable of doing many things at once.

And week before last, he did what many Americans did: He picked his bracket in the NCAA basketball tournament, and he picked North Carolina, which predictably caused the coach of their rival, Duke, [Mike Krzyzewski], to say the following: “Somebody said we're not in President Obama’s Final Four, and as much as I respect what he is doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets.”

Whether Coach K said it jokingly or not, there is some truth to what he said. The president is very impressive and is capable of doing many things at once. But, we don't need a lot of things done at once right now.

We have one big issue — it’s the economy, Mr. President.

While all of us have our role to play in this — senators, businesspeople, all of us across the country — there is only one person who can do what the President of the United States can do. He is the agenda setter. He is the mobilizer. If the President of the United States focuses on one big issue and throws everything he has into it for as long as he can, he will wear everybody else out and he will solve the problem, if it can be solved. I am confident in this country the problem can be solved.

Obama has been there for just over two months now. We still have a big economic problem that started before he came in.

Some people say Americans don't pay attention to history, which in my view isn’t wise. In October of 1952, General Eisenhower was running for president and said: “I shall go to Korea … with one goal in view: to bring the Korean

War to an early and honorable end.” On Nov. 29, 1952 — within three weeks of the election — President Eisenhower went to Korea, as promised.

Of course, there were a lot of other problems in 1952 and 1953 that needed to be solved, but President Eisenhower focused on the Korean War, ended it, and the country was grateful.

Likewise, there are other important issues for the president to address today, but it is time for the President to say, “I will fix the banks. I will get credit flowing again. I will concentrate my attention on that job until it is done.” He can do that. The country needs for him to do that, and the country would be grateful if he did.

In conclusion, Coach K's advice to our impressive new president is good advice. We know he can have summits, make trips and deal with a lot of different things. He has smart people working with him.

But we have one tough problem that needs his undivided attention: It is the economy, Mr. President.