Fixing Our Broken Government

The Washington Post released an editorial written by Philip K. Howard on October 1. Howard is a well-known leader of government and legal reform in America and he is also chair of common good. In this piece of writing, he targets political candidates and voters as his audience. His argument is that candidates should focus less on their egos and put more effort into forming a plan of action to better the U.S. government. He also argues that voters should place their hopes in candidates who have visions of how to fix our broken government rather than those with good personalities and political withstanding. Howard backs his argument by using evidence such as Obama being unable to fulfill his promise of bringing "change we can believe in" after he took office. He explains that Obama "had no authority to escape from the legal goo of required studies, permits and processes." He uses Trump as an example as well. According to Howard, "Trump's appeal is based on Candor and power." However, he questions how Trump will be able to "make the trains run on time" as he claims he will when he can't ignore the laws and regulations presidents are faced with. These examples prove that some candidates are making promises that aren't backed by a thoroughly thought out plan. Howard makes a good point. It is impossible to come to a solution without a carefully considered and well thought out plan.