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ONE THING is already apparent in the first day of Barack Obama's administration: the man's stamina is considerable. The day following his inauguration and a night when he attended no fewer than 10 inauguration balls, Mr Obama is at work, meeting military commanders and economic advisers. Almost his first act has been to suspend the military trials of Guantanamo Bay suspects for 120 days “in the interests of justice”. The hearings of five men accused of plotting the September 11 attacks were due to take place today.
Indeed, Mr Obama has already moved with remarkable swiftness to appoint his cabinet. Most are already in place but the Senate has still to ratify some appointments, including that of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. But the overall impression, confirmed by his inaugural address yesterday, is of a man driven by a sense of urgency. His speech may have lacked the memorable quality of his campaign rhetoric or quite equalled John F Kennedy or Roosevelt, but it was a commitment to action. As he said: “There is work to be done.”
And it is right that he should begin with Guantanamo Bay, which is, for much of the world, synonymous with the diminution of America's moral standing under the Bush administration. Some of the 250 men detained there may well be dangerous individuals. Nonetheless, their trials are compromised by the use of torture in some cases to extract evidence. If there is sufficient evidence to convict them, they should be brought to trial. Establishing a proper judicial process for the trials of detainees with a case against them, and releasing the rest, will be a powerful symbol that the change promised by Mr Obama is real.
Just heal us
MINISTERS have become adept at providing grandiose substitutes for real change in areas where practical policies are what matter. So it is with the new NHS constitution today, setting out patients' rights and responsibilities.
We are to be given the right to services predominantly free of charge, wherever possible convenient, free of discrimination and delivered in a professional manner, in a clean environment.
But in what way does this statement of the obvious improve things? We want to be made better when we are sick; we want an appointment sooner rather than later, and we want access to an NHS dentist. That does not require a constitution. It will make no difference whatever to the situation we report today, where 10 hospital trusts in the capital are missing government targets for A&E waiting. As for patients' responsibilities, if Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, wants to penalise people who fail to turn up for their appointments — and that is a real issue — he can do so without fanfare.
The problem with the NHS is not that it lacks grandiose objectives. More serious is the fact that so much of the increase in funding since 1999 has been spent on improving the pay of doctors and consultants, and on administrators, without requiring corresponding improvements in patient care.The Health Service faces real challenges with an ageing population and increasing patient demand for new and costly drugs and procedures, such as life-prolonging cancer treatments. An NHS constitution can certainly do no harm, but it does not advance the way we deal with those challenges one jot.
And celebrating...
THE SPECTACLE of Michelle and Barack Obama dancing a slow two-step during their inaugural ball. In a world facing grim times, what we need is more dancing, more balls, as the best possible form of escapism. The Obamas showed us how it's done. The rest of us should follow suit, even if Vince Cable on Strictly Come Dancing may be the nearest Britain can get to it.
