Connecting the Dots From The Highest Office To The Grassroots

We at Public Agenda have been following with great interest the new Administration's efforts to encourage active citizenship and community problem-solving, and so far we are heartened by what we see. President Obama and his team have been calling on citizens to weigh in on national issues and to volunteer and organize to address local concerns. Moreover, they have been providing tools to help citizens get organized, including discussion guides that people can use at gatherings to help promote open, productive conversation about issues.

We expect that President Obama will not, in every instance, encourage public deliberation in a nonpartisan manner. There will be times when he will be more of an advocate for a particular solution than a nonpartisan promoter of a more engaged citizenry. He came to power, after all, in a partisan election with a platform, point of view and agenda. So while he has already done a great deal to foster pragmatic common ground rather than partisan squabbling, we know he will not always play the role of nonpartisan civic educator. There will be times when he will push his own agenda and issues, and views it as his job to persuade the American people of his particular point of view.

At those times when the President does act in a partisan mode, all we can ask is that he avoid the temptations of excessive and destructive partisanship. Fortunately, that seems to be consistent with both his style and his philosophy. He seems, so far at least, to have the ability to disagree without being disagreeable, and to argue for his own agenda while respecting others' points of view. In doing so, he is modeling a style of engagement that our political culture sorely needs.

Public Agenda has a long history of creating nonpartisan dialogue and deliberation materials, and of helping citizens and communities use them to come to public judgment on issues and to find ways to work on them and contribute to solutions. As such, we stand ready to support a better policy debate, with better public participation. Our accessible nonpartisan guides to a long list of public issues – from crime and education to poverty and illegal drugs - can complement the policy debates that will arise.

We look forward to playing this role in the years ahead. Meanwhile, we suggest you visit the Public Engagement section of our web site, where you can learn more about our nonpartisan tools and materials for citizen deliberation and community problem-solving.