Congratulations, Democrats. You’ve got a lot to be proud of. Significant health care reform has finally become a reality for the United States after a year of contentious debate. But moreover, the political tides have clearly shifted in your favor.

While we have won this battle, we have not won the war, that war being the rest of President Obama’s ambitious agenda.

Many may be tempted to say, let’s take it easy. We can back off major legislation, and press on in 2011 with the 112th United States Congress.

For God’s sake don’t do that.

This year presents enormous opportunity for passing more than just health care reform, all the while improving our chances of winning in November. You just have to play the cards right, and at the right time.

Dear President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid:

As the key figures setting the legislative agenda, the cards are in your collective hands. Combatting the 24/7, conflict-addicted, Tea Party-obsessed news cycle will not be easy, but by timing your messages right, I’m pretty confident you can get not just one more reform done this year, but three.

First, tackle education reform. Everyone knows education is a politically safe topic. Few are opposed to it, and most on both sides of the aisle recognize the abysmal failure that was No Child Left Behind. In addition, few politicians are willing to raise the same kind of ruckus for education as they did for health care. It’s for the kids, after all.

If you pass a bill by the middle of May, you can even tie your message to the end of the school year. Imagine the headlines: “American students celebrate summer; America celebrates a new era of high-quality education.”

Secondly, duke it out for the climate bill. One version has already passed the House, and there is bipartisan support in the Senate. It will still be a tough fight, but the climate — the weather, not the political climate — will work in your favor.

Remember the ignorant skepticism of global warming because of the unusual snowfall in Washington this past winter? That same mentality applies in reverse, too. As the temperatures increase so will belief in global warming.

As more Americans travel and the economy improves, gas prices will rise, sparking more demand for energy reform and investments to reduce our dependence on oil. Nobody likes paying $4 a gallon for gas.

On top of that, hurricane season kicks off on June 1, and with it, the approaching five-year anniversary of the devastating Hurricane Katrina. Scientific evidence shows a correlation between global warming and hurricane activity, and fear of another Katrina will be just one more factor adding to popular support of a bill to combat climate change.

Finally, wrap up the year with immigration reform. Activists are already demanding it — although their rally on March 21 was largely drowned out by the health care debate.

As holidays approach, Americans will be more sympathetic to immigrant families being torn apart due to unfair immigration policy. In addition, the myriad of holidays celebrated serves to underscore the diversity in America, providing an excellent backdrop for the immigration debate.

The media won’t mind either. Passing a bill by Christmas would mean more heartwarming tales of immigrant families together for the holidays. Let them have that story.

The full column is below the cut. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Democrats aren’t doing half bad right now. So far 2010 actually isn’t looking nearly as dire as it was just after pseudo-Republican Scott Brown won the Kennedy seat in Massachusetts.

If Democrats keep up the hard work and continue to ignore tea partiers—radical conservatives and ultra-liberals like they have been—they might just survive this year. Nevertheless, here’s a little advice.

Dear Democratic Strategists,

You’re doing alright. Behind all the tea party crazy talk and “Washington is broken” nonsense, the news cycle seems to be trending your way.

Predicting the news cycle is a difficult thing to do. Sometimes it’s rough for Democrats, sometimes it hits the GOP where it really hurts.

This is supposed to be a rough year for Democrats. President Barack Obama’s policies haven’t sailed through as smoothly as we hoped. Hardly anyone’s happy with Congress, and it consists mostly of Democrats. So it’s all bad news for the Democratic Party, right?

I’m not so sure. Look at the news from Tuesday just this week, for example.

The leading headline in the Wall Street Journal was “Deal Near on Banking Rules,” one of the Democrats’ key policy items. Point for us.

Let’s look at others. “Tea Party Holds Risks for GOP.” Minus one for Republicans.

“Fed Void Clears Path for Obama,” “Manufacturing Shows Strength,” “Bailout Update: AIG’s repayment means U.S. is close to getting back half of its IOUs.” Point, point, point for Democrats.

And then there’s darling Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., holding up unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.

“One Senator Holds Up Bill, in New Level of Gridlock,” proclaims the WSJ. And then Tuesday evening: “Deal Reached to End Senator’s Holdout.” Point.

“Well that’s just one paper!” conservatives might protest (never mind the fact that the Wall Street Journal typically leans right). Sure, but The Washington Post’s headlines tell the same story.

Oh, and see that cover story in the Metro section? It exposes Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia as the hypocrite he is, lobbying for education funding from the Recovery Act he’s been lobbying against since last year. Point.

So the media momentum has shifted left a bit. But we can’t just sit back and be passive, can we? “We can’t let Republicans control the agenda and the message!” say paranoid political strategists on the left.

Well, maybe not completely. But lately they’ve done a good job digging themselves into a hole without your help, Democrats.

So, let ‘em talk.

The Tea Party is a joke. Every time Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck opens their mouth, people ridicule them across the political spectrum. Ron Paul? Not much of a threat when the Republican establishment still loathes him. Let them talk.

The “Party of No” is still just saying “no,” as evidenced by Bunning’s ignorant protest of the unemployment bill. If all the public hears is “no,” let ‘em talk.

Finally, the stimulus bill is working, the economy continues to improve and Obama is working hard to find solutions to our debt problem.

Meanwhile, Republicans continue to pan his economic proposals, as if they weren’t going home to hypocritically take credit for the stimulus. Let ‘em talk; it’s only hurting them.

So Democrats, for now I think you should just ride the wave. Let the Republicans screw up their own messaging—you just focus on getting things done. The people will notice. You act, let them talk.

The full column is below the cut. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Congress is in trouble. And it’s not just Democrats, either.

In fact, the 2010 midterms are the least of Congress’ problems. They’re in trouble as an institution of democracy. As the largest and arguably most important elected body of the U.S. government, they’re suffering a communications crisis of epic proportions.

Really, it’s even more than a crisis. They’re on the brink of a communications catastrophe.

The cause is simply public perception. Believe it or not, the 111th Congress has already accomplished larger, more significant legislative victories than almost any other Congress in history. But the public perceives them as a failure, because they haven’t communicated it well.

Let’s see, they kicked off the year by granting equal pay for equal work. Pretty reasonable. Then they expanded health insurance for millions of needy children. They’ve also protected about two million acres of American wilderness, expanded national service programs like AmeriCorps, broadened power to enforce financial fraud, protected credit card consumers, regulated tobacco, created the successful Cash for Clunkers program and granted emergency aid to Haiti.

Oh, and they rescued the U.S. economy by passing one of the most comprehensive and successful spending bills in history.

So, why does everyone still hate them?

Their polling numbers are literally at rock bottom. Only a meager 18 percent of the country approves of their work, while 78 percent disapprove. Here’s some advice:

Dear Congress,

This isn’t going to be some minor fix. You’re not just “in a rut.” You won’t be able to weasel your way out of this one, and regardless of the outcome of this November’s election, these problems won’t just go away.

I think you need to do three things.

First, make President Barack Obama’s “question time” with Republicans a regular event. Make it law. Or make a resolution. Either way, make it happen. Often.

See, question time didn’t just allow Obama to score points (although he certainly schooled House Republicans). It allowed for an open, unobstructed, rational and civil debate between our president and our legislators. This communication needs to happen more often, and the public needs to be able to see it.

Transparency builds trust. Question time is transparent. Thus, question time builds trust. See the connection here?

Second, campaign on your own accomplishments, not someone else’s.

Look at the stimulus bill. Numerous Republican members of Congress are out bragging about the new infrastructure and jobs that “they” have created, then coming back to D.C. and railing against the very stimulus bill that created those opportunities—and that they voted against. Hypocritical much?

For that matter, campaign on your own accomplishments and not on other’s supposed “failures.” Bad-mouthing your opponents doesn’t make you look good; it makes you look petty. And that’s part of what’s keeping Congress painted in such a negative light.

Finally—and this is a real revelation, folks — learn to communicate. Whether it’s staffers, your press team, or all you Congressmen yourselves, you’re doing an absurdly bad job at talking to us, the people you represent.

Send us letters. Get online. Explain, objectively, what bills are about (and if you don’t know, get someone who works for you to do it). Take 30 minutes a day and answer your office’s phones yourself, instead of giving it to an intern. Never, ever use ghost tweeters or ghost bloggers.

Does all that sound hard? It’s not. You’ve got it easy, while millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills.

Work harder. Do better. Communicate.

After a stinging loss in Massachusetts, miserable polling and ever-lower expectations for the November midterm elections, there has been plenty of advice going around for Democrats. Last week, I counted no less than five such articles and editorials in Sunday’s Washington Post.

Miraculously, President Barack Obama seems to be changing the game. His State of the Union address, high-speed rail announcement and “question time” at the GOP retreat were three powerful wins in a row for him and for the Democratic party.

But not all is well and good. To fully recover from the recent tailspin of negative coverage, one person in particular needs to straighten up. The Obama administration’s main spokesman for the press, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, simply hasn’t been doing his job well. I’ve got some tips.

Dear Mr. Gibbs,

Quit pissing off the press. Sound complicated? It’s not.

It’s no secret the Obama White House has been getting more and more negative coverage by the press in recent days. Sure, there’s a lot of bad news being steered in your direction, but a press that gets along well with the press secretary might be a bit more inclined to break bad news more gently.

The press isn’t irritated with President Obama himself. Nor are they against his policies. Many journalists, statistically speaking, lean left anyway. In fact, I’m sure they quite like him as a person, too. According to a poll from late December, 58 percent of all Americans hold a favorable opinion of him personally.

This is all about the communicator. That’s you, Mr. Gibbs. You’re getting on their nerves, and because of that, you’re failing at your job to communicate White House policy effectively. Two weeks ago Dana Milbank at the Washington Post wrote a scathing column criticizing your “usual mix of wisecracks of insults,” your “glib Gibbs gibes,” and referring to you as “smart-alecky” and “combative.” Not good.

Then the weekend after that, liberal MSNBC news and radio host Ed Schultz told the nation about an unpleasant encounter with you. He told you that you were “full of sh-t”, and then you dropped the f-bomb right back.

Now you’re saying Mr. Schultz was misleading viewers in order to “get viewers to watch his show.” Not cool, Mr. Gibbs. Not cool at all.

There are three things you need to do to get out of the White House Press Corps’ doghouse.

First, quit being so political. You’re the press secretary. Yes, you should defend the administration, but you’re not campaigning anymore. Give them the news, answer the questions and spin as necessary. Don’t campaign — you already work in the White House; you can worry about re-election next year. Focus on your message, not everyone else’s.

Secondly, chillax. Not every question is an attack on Obama, and if you keep snapping at the media, they aren’t going to be nice to you in their columns that they write in newspapers with far more readers than this one.

Finally, give the press the respect they deserve. These people are keeping you relevant. And for the most part, they’re also being nice to the Obama administration; in 2009 they gave you the most balanced coverage in history, about 49 percent positive and 51 percent negative, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs. If you want anything close to that in 2010, you’d better shape up.

Your bad attitude only results in one thing and that’s more columns like this. Obama’s doing a nice job recovering — don’t ruin it for him.

Evidently–and I wish I’d known this before I spent several hours work into the article–columnists aren’t allowed to report for The Eagle too. It’s one or the other. Either/or. Pick one, not two, “you can’t have it both ways.” I had wondered, at first, because I knew that major publications often had similar restrictions. However, this being a little university newspaper–and the editor and staff not questioning my authority to write an article–I figured it must be alright, in this circumstance.

Not so. After researching, interviewing, writing and finally submitting my piece, I was called the next day to hear that my piece would not be run, since I’m a columnist, too. Honestly, I think it’s a stupid rule–the article was written perfectly objectively, in my humble opinion, and I’ve separated the views of my column clearly from the information conveyed in my article. But nonetheless, it’s not going to happen. Because it’s not going to happen, I’m going to publish my article here. It sure won’t get as many eyeballs here as it would have in a print edition of The Eagle, but it’s better than nothing. Read it, if you like, and let me know what you think in the comments. I always appreciate feedback. Check it out below the cut.

Confidence abounds for AU’s financial future, despite other colleges’ worries

American University officials are confident 2010 will be another successful year, despite pessimism by many other colleges. Successful progress toward the AnewAU development campaign, an upgraded bond rating, and official university financial documents all point toward a similarly positive outlook.

At a meeting of the Council of Independent Colleges in early January more than 60 college presidents gathered for discussion on the rough economy’s impact on their schools.

“There is a theory that fall 2010 is going to be the hard one,” said Paul Hennigan, president of Point Park University, in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the event. AU President Cornelius Kerwin was not in attendance for the meeting but his comments in his Dec. 4 “End of Semester Update” contradict the sentiment.

“The condition of our university remains strong,” he said. “The enrollment trends… have not changed, and we remain on track to operate within our revenue and expenditure targets for the current fiscal year.”

Kerwin is not the only one confident about AU’s future. Thomas Minar, AU’s Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations, considers the university to be “very fortunate to be in the position we’re in.” As the man in charge of the AnewAU fundraising campaign, he said he’s been pleased to see development performing even better than in 2008.

The AnewAU campaign launched in October of 2003 with the goal of $200 million. Now the campaign has reached $196.2 million and is in its final stages. Minar said cash proceeds in December were “considerably higher than other years” and emphasized that “AU is in as good or better shape as any of our peers.”

AnewAU is “very focused on raising money for the SIS building,” he said, referring to the 70,000 square foot new building for AU’s School of International Service. The school has only raised approximately half of its $25 million goal, according to the SIS Web site. Minar said that as the building nears completion there will be more focus on fundraising for new School of Communications facilities. Students will hear “significant news” about SOC facilities in the first half of 2010.

Standard & Poor’s Rating Services expressed confidence in AU and upgraded AU’s bond rating from A to A+ in December. AU was one of only 12 institutions–one of only two private–to receive an upgrade from S&P in 2009.

“We have been operating with a financial management strategy for some time that has taken a very conservative approach that I believe is helping us,” said Don Myers, AU’s Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, in an “Inside Higher Ed” article on the bond upgrade.

AU’s 2008-2009 Annual Report and 2010-2011 Budget echo the confidence of the university administration.

“Never has our future been brighter than it is at this moment,” said Gary Abramson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in his introduction to the Annual Report. Other language in the report states confidently, “we [AU] are on the cusp of greatness.”

The Budget had good news too, especially for faculty and staff. In an economy where many schools are laying off staff and freezing salaries, AU is doing the opposite. The school has set aside money for a 3.0% performance-based salary and benefits increase for both fiscal years 2010 and 2011. In addition, $2.6 million has been set aside to hire 23 new tenure and tenure-track faculty over the next two years.

Just a quick update tonight with a rapid-fire overview of what my weekend has been like. Friday and Saturday I devoted purely to Social Justice Camp DC, which was absolutely incredible. I met a ton of amazing people, learned a lot of amazing stuff and well, got inspired. But I really hate skimming over so much important information, so I’m going to do a great big write-up of the experience tomorrow or Wednesday and get that up here and out for all of yall to read. I’ll probably highlight a few of the causes I’m really excited to get involved with (probably this summer, when I have some more free time) and explain some of my own, personal, key takeaways from the (un)conference–I’ll explain the “unconference” part later too.

In addition, I got to spend some time with two of my best friends in the world who just recently moved back to D.C. In kind of an odd coincidence, they both moved away (one to Seattle, the other to Tampa, Florida) shortly before I left to go abroad. Now that I’m back in D.C., they’ve moved back as well! I couldn’t be happier about it. We had a great time hanging out and needless to say, I really missed them. I can say with 100% certainty they are going to make this semester much more fun and hopefully a little stressful than it might have been otherwise. Thanks guys, glad you’re back!

Finally, on my desk right now I’ve got no less than five post-its screaming at me with variations and extensions on my main to-do list. It’s long, diverse and about half-fun. Unfortunately some of the things on my list are pretty tedious: “update résumé”, “sort through Twitter favorites”, “finish AU merit awards profile”, “scholarship applications”… But others are pretty fun, things like: “evergreen column for The Eagle“, “make cookbook binder”, “write blog posts!” You get the idea.

After that we walked over to Capitol Hill Books and geeked-out wandering around stacks and stacks of amazing old books. They also have hysterical signs. And try as I might, I can never resist books–I picked up a copy of “The American Presidency” by Clinton Rossiter, published in 1956 (I believe I’ve got a 1959 edition–awesome). I don’t know when I’ll have time to read it, but I read the intro right there in the bookstore and I’m already engrossed.

Finally I wound up in Peregrine Espresso which is a fantastic little coffee shop with pretty lattes AND they have a Twitter account. I’m sold. I’ll be going back. I did a little reading and then biked back to Union Station so I could be a wuss and metro up the hill instead of having to bike up Massachusetts Ave. (it’s rough, okay?!).

Anyway, next up will be two exciting blog posts:

1. A good, thorough recap of Social Justice Camp DC (#sojuca!)
2. A look at the power of public relations as it can be related to the dissident media of early civil rights movements in America and the current news cycle + social media (that’s a little broad and vague yet, still working on it)

Keep your eyes peeled. Also, I’ve got my first story (story, not column–as in I’m playing the “reporter” role this time) coming out in The Eagle this Thursday! You’ll know it’s online when I do.

My column is titled “Unsolicited Advice”, meaning that it’s advice for people who haven’t really asked for it (and might not even want it) but I’m giving it to them anyway. Check the link above to read my first column, advice for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, or click the “read more” to read it here on my blog. Comments are always appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to read my first column. Every other week on this page you’ll read my unsolicited advice to those who – I believe – need it the most. They may not think they need it. They may not want it. And they might even be a little pissed that a college student would think himself precocious enough to write something like this. But here I am, and I’m going to tell it like I see it.

Dear Sen. Harry Reid:

Students, you might think you know where this is going already. If you’ve followed politics at all lately you know that Mr. Reid has gotten himself in some boiling water over a few choice words he used in reference to President Obama during the 2008 campaign (namely, “light-skinned” and “negro dialect”). Amidst calls for him to retire, a never-ending battle for health care reform and abysmal polling in Nevada, it’s beginning to look like Reid is being shown the door.

I beg to differ.

Sen. Reid, this isn’t over yet. You can still bring this campaign back from the grave. But you need to make some changes.

First, fire your campaign manager, Brandon Hall. Apprentice-style, if you will. A quick look at his campaign experience, and I think it’s easy to see he’s not the best person for the job. After running an unsuccessful campaign for a special election House seat in 2006, he ran the campaign for Mark Begich in Alaska against former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

“But Begich won the race!” you might protest. Of course. But he won by only the slimmest of margins — less than 4,000 votes — and let’s not forget he was running against a convicted felon.

Experienced? Accomplished? Not even. And the way he’s run your campaign so far proves it. Find someone new.

Second on your to-do list should be to get aggressive with your public relations tactics.

You’re being bombarded with bad press. As if the scandals, tear-jerking polling statistics and problems on the hill weren’t enough, now The Washington Post is even saying you and your son Rory — running for Governor of Nevada — are a burden to each other. Don’t believe it, work together with Rory to fight back hard.

This is a Nevada election. Get local. Get aggressive and don’t let the press dictate your strategy.

Last but by no means least, get online. With it being 2010 and all, your social media presence is laughable. On Facebook you have only 3,374 fans. And your staff doesn’t even try to pretend it’s you updating. They even refer to you in the third person.

Twitter is almost as bad. Only 5,508 followers, updates that look like headlines ripped out of a press release and zero interaction with your constituency.

Don’t forget, it’s not just fundraising that will win you this election. You have to reach out and connect with your voters. Services like Twitter and Facebook provide an awesome opportunity to do just that.

Good luck, Sen. Reid. You’ll need it.