Three Envelope and Today

Very old white house joke – worth mentioning in this situation

The new President settles in at his desk and finds three envelopes marked in his predecessor's handwriting. He opens the one marked, "open first." It reads "Congratulations! And sorry to leave you with such a mess. I did what I could. For now just blame on my administration, and you will be ok. All the best.”  And he did.

Second envelope says open on 4th of July. The crises, indeed, persist, and the president opens the second envelope: "Not as easy as you think, huh? Never mind: Prepare a grand address (You are good at that… Come on…), and blame me all you want - my feelings won't be hurt. If by Thanks Giving, it's all still dire, open the third envelope. " And so the new president broadcasts a somber address on national television, and - eloquently, avoiding a directly accusatory tone - says that he was not aware of the depths of the crises facing the nation when he took office, that he will need time to steer the country back to recovery.

On Thanks Giving, things are worse than ever. The president opens the third envelope, saying open on Thanks Giving. It contains a single piece of note paper: "Prepare three envelopes," it says.

Learning:

Barack Obama has been doing this game of blame for many of the problems he faces as president on the previous administration. And has no doubt even blame President Bush himself. For awhile, that may work. But sooner rather than later, he will realize that the buck does indeed stop in the Oval Office.

Like President Bush he will find that what he said on the campaign trail won't fly in the Oval Office. Remember that President Bush criticizes his predecessor for not having an exit strategy in Bosnia. That has come to be one of the biggest criticisms of his administration. President Bush also warned against using U.S. troops for "nation building." He has been engaged in such an endeavor in Iraq for these many years.

Barack Obama is sure to face many crises. While it will be tempting to blame the previous administration, he still need to learn have to deal with them effectively.