Can Obama save Chicago?

On Tuesday, I was talking baseball with a friend from Chicago.  We remembered the 30th anniversary of the "Wrigley lights," but we ended up talking murders and more murders.  Isn't the whole country talking about it?

As he said: "Everybody's getting out here."  He meant that anyone who can is leaving Chicago and moving to the suburbs or elsewhere.  Some have moved to Texas, and you can see all of those "Bears" bumper stickers moving in our freeways.

It's sad, but Chicago is dying one murder at a time.  Add to the murder stories a totally "out for myself" political class, and Chicago reminds me of the most corrupt days of "one-party government" in Mexico.  (By the way, I met Alan Riding in Mexico, and his book Distant Neighbors is a must for those who want to understand how we got to the one-party state south of the border.)

Chicago needs a fix beyond a law or another reference to the past.

Therefore, I call on President Obama to commit his post-presidency to saving Chicago, the city that put him on the political map.  He has to do it, or Chicago will die.

Let me give him a few suggestions:

1. The Obamas should move back to Chicago and tell Democrats to send their kids to public schools.  No more private schools for the political class and public schools for everyone else.

2. He can speak around town about the importance of fatherhood and family structure in the affected communities.  He will probably find a lot of religious leaders willing to join him in that effort.

3. He should remind everyone that gun control is a great talking point but has not stopped the murders in Chicago.  Maybe there is more to murder than gun control.

In other words, the Obamas should forget about giving speeches in South Africa and make rebuilding Chicago their lifetime mission.  It may turn out to be his most prominent legacy, and the best way he can save the Democratic Party in the inner cities.  I predict that there is a coming revolt against the failure of Democrat rule in most of our big cities.  Our friend Monica Showalter is right that the Democrats will soon be held accountable for their failures.

Okay – maybe I'm dreaming about President Obama, but we could use a "hope and change" speech in Chicago, especially the change part.

In 2008, Obama thought his calling was to be president.  He had a lackluster presidency with not many achievements.  Today, we call on him to save Chicago, and it may be his greatest contribution to the country, his hometown, and his party.

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