Many years ago, I had friended former New York City,
Mayor Ed Koch through my friend's sister-in-law and had developed a writing
relationship with him, where he would share with me an upcoming commentary
which would be published in one of the New York papers in the next day or two,
and I would respond to him. This went on from 1996 until his death in 2013.
After he passed, my brother Tim suggested I start writing
for myself as this process had become somewhat of a catharsis as I was dealing
with Colon Cancer and several other medical issues which could have sent me
into a depressed state.
Since then, I have authored over 750 commentaries of my
own, commenting on politics, sports, medicine, social issues and whatever else
interested me on a particular day. I have also authored nine books which are
available on Amazon, a Musical and a screenplay, which is presently being
considered and hopefully, will be sold.
What follows is a letter I sent to Mayor Koch not long
after the 2012 election responding to a column he was going to publish in November,
2012 in the New York Post. I share it now because in twelve years, while the
players may have changed, the circumstances surrounding our current state have actually
become worse.
His response to me was: “Unique and not without merit.” I
hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing and sharing this.
Nov 12, 2012
Dear Mr .Mayor,
This Election cycle and the result shows America as a
deeply divided country. This is no surprise to any thoughtful person and
as you and I can judge, the healing needs to begin. The Speaker has
already reached out to the President to hopefully begin the process, but more
needs to be done.
Mr. Obama has shown in the past that he has the ability
think out the politically confining box before, by picking his
adversary Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and by all accounts, this was a
brilliant choice which worked well for him and for us. If you look
throughout American History, other Presidents have made bold choices to
advance the causes of healing and bipartisanship, to wit, President Kennedy's
choices of McNamara as SecDef, Dillon as SecTreas, and Allen Dulles as CIA
Director, President Truman's choice of Marshall as SecState, President
Johnson who chose to keep most of Kennedy's cabinet after his own election,
and other Presidents who put country before party or their own self-interests.
Even Abraham Lincoln chose Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, to run with him
as Vice President during the Civil War to help unify the country.
I am sure that in order to ensure passage of his ideas in
a Republican-held House and a filibuster-killing Senate,
President Obama recognizes the need to reach across the aisle and
glad-hand the leadership of the Republican caucuses in the House and Senate.
Therefore, bold choices need to be considered by him to effect passage of his
agenda.
The President spoke during the campaign of creating a
Secretary of Business, and while Mr. Romney criticized such an idea,
he would be the ideal candidate to fill such a position. Even if such a
position is not authorized by the Congress, Mr. Obama could have Mr.
Romney lead his "Jobs Council", with some real bite to it, developing some
of Mr. Romney's own ideas into programs which would result in a better
employment outlook for the millions of Americans presently unemployed. Mr.
Romney has worked before for other people and as a leader, has shown the
ability to follow the direction of those in charge. After all, President
Hoover followed President Truman's direction to reorganize the Executive
Branch, and I believe Mr. Romney is cut from the same cloth as Truman
and Hoover.
If you read "The Presidents' Club" you will see
other examples where former presidents were asked by their successors to
assist them in areas beneficial to the country. There is no reason why we
can't witness a similar concept with former adversaries working together
for the common good at time when such a concept is surely needed.
We need to start right away to begin the process of
healing and unifying. President Obama has a unique oratory style that people
understand, and the time to deliver and execute the message is short. We
certainly don't need a repeat of the last two years of acrimony and inaction by
our government. Hopefully, Mr. Obama can show he has the ability and
nerve to lead and not worry what others think when he chooses to follow a
direction contrary to what many believe is in his political DNA. We are at a
crossroads in our history and a true leader needs to step up. We need
President Obama to be that man. His choice of Mitt Romney would go a long way
to prove he is.
Sincerely
Frank McHale
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