President Should Host Pick-up Games and Sleep Overs

The country is enjoying a few days of quiet from the loud, harsh, and brittle noises emanating from Washington, D.C.

Unless the President takes the lead, we will be enduring more of the same within two weeks. President Obama has shown us, when things get tough, he leaves town, rather than stay in the game.

Two recent examples: The "fiscal cliff" discussions. He left the city more than once to drum up support for his ideas in Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia. His minions, and the people with the votes stayed in Washington; The "gun violence issue."  He turned the real work over to the Vice President Joe Biden.

If Barack Obama wants to be taken seriously by his opposition, his own people, and those of us who vote and pay taxes, he has to stay in the game, get sweaty and muddy.

The President can't lead us from outside the arena.

Here is my game plan for the next 180 days:

Park Air Force One

Invite Speaker John Boehner, Senator Mitch McConnell, and other leaders of the Republicans in the House and Senate, to breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, supper, after work beverages, pickup basketball games, horse shoes, and sleep overs.

Each day for the next 180 days have lengthy discussions about the budget, debt, deficit, cutting expenses, and revenue.

Ask for ideas. Listen. Compromise.

Keep at it, even if it hurts.

Don't stop until you have long term solutions acceptable to all sides.

Our leader needs to lead. He can't bully us or be condescending to his critics. He can't be our leader when he doesn't show up.

The President's legacy of greatness, or much less, will be forged in the next 180 days.

Will he stay in the game, or will he take another trip?