Akron, OH

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

President Obama is making quicksand out of the muddy landscape of Ground Zero. He chose to walk into this quagmire, and now he is sinking fast. SO goes the president, so goes his party. On this issue, so goes the president, so goes the country's support. He is a great speaker, not a great communicator. If he could shore up his ability to connect with his audience, the American people, he could lead this country to reconciliation on this issue.

1. Address the nation

The president needs to address the nation on this issue, since he is the one who brought it up. By choosing to expound upon this subject, twice, he now has to work really hard to cross over to the other side. Right now he is in limbo land, and his limbo is quicksand that will drag him down. He needed to either stay quiet on the issue or lead the solution. Since he did not stay quiet, he does not have the option of simply weighing in as other Americans. He needs to dig deep and address the nation on this sole issue.

2. Share their pain

One thing Bill Clinton was really good at was visually and verbally sharing the pain of others. He needs to

verbally, visually, and vocally share the pain of all sides: the families of the deceased, the families of the first arrivers, the families of the Mosque, and Americans at large because New York is everyone's city.

3. Build a bridge

President Obama needs to build a bridge between all the factions, and show them how to cross over the bridge to a solution. It is not enough to talk, he needs to lead. It is not enough to lead in words only, he needs to build a solution and show all factions how to reach that solution.

4. Get off the academic bully pulpit

Obama is going to need to rid himself of the scholarly, professorial, academic detachment that surrounds him like a robe. This is not a local issue, America's security, or lack of it, which Ground Zero represents, is a national issue. This is a people issue. It is not an amendment issue or a rights issue. It is a human issue. And Obama is going to have to get human.

5. Get all sides together

If he can get, and thought it was important enough to arrange and show up at the White House meeting of the professor and the policeman, then it is important enough for him to get physically involved in this resolution. He needs to get "dirty", he needs to get involved in person and commiserate, and shake hands, and cajole, all sides to a solution.

If he does not take these steps, this mosque will be his Ground Zero

Leslie Ungar

President

Electric Impulse Communications, Inc.

Akron, OH

330-668-6569