Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times wrote the article titled Radical in the White House. This article was published on Janurary 20, 2009 and was written to the general public of the United States. This article was written in order to express the idea that a radical in the white house would help initiate changes within America. Friedman wrote, “we can’t thrive as a country any longer by coasting on our reputation, by postponing solutions to every big problem that might involve some pain and by telling ourselves that dramatic new initiatives — like a gasoline tax, national health care or banking reform — are too hard or “off the table.” He hopes that president Obama is a closest radical and can help reinvigorate America. So far America has made one big step in changing our norms. Some Americans believe in saying “Mission accomplished” since the first black man was elected president. We have indeed changed history but it shouldn’t stop there.
The main argument that the author is trying to make is that Americans are looking toward the president to help us solve the problems we are facing today. These are times when the president can do big things. President Obama has the opportunity to initiate some changes and to follow through with those changes. As Friedman stated, “the hour is late, the project couldn’t be harder, the stakes couldn’t be higher, the payoff couldn’t be greater.” Our mission has not yet been accomplished; it has only begun.
