[By: John Freehey]

Barack Obama just turned 50 years old. He is still a young man (by contemporary standards). He still plays basketball regularly, he likes to golf, he enjoys spending quality time with his daughters.

I have an idea for him. He should announce that he is taking a break at the end of next year from politics. Instead of running for re-election, Mr. Obama should tell the country that he is going into private business.

He has plenty of time to run again should he discover that he still has some work he wants to finish as President.

He can always run again. He can pull a Cleveland. Grover Cleveland was the only President to win in two non-consecutive terms, although he lost to Benjamin Harrison in between. Obama can take the high road and leave while the leaving is good.

The President needs some real world experience. Imagine how much better he would do with the experience of having to meet a payroll or worry about the P&L Statement. Imagine how much more sympathetic he would be if he actually understood how his health care law would make it harder to hire people. Imagine if he actually understood that by “spreading the wealth around,” the government actually makes it harder for the economy to grow.

Mr. Obama could start small. Maybe he and Michelle could go into business together. That way he could understand the struggles of small business owners. Of course, as an ex-President, he would also serve on a couple of corporate boards. That’s okay too. Mr. Obama still has a lot to learn about how the big business sector thinks and acts.

By announcing that he is taking a break now, the President can take politics out of the fiscal crisis equation. He could do the right thing to cure the entitlement problem. Since he wouldn’t be running for re-election next year, he wouldn’t have to worry about a challenge from a left-wing primary. He could move to the center and actually get some real stuff done.

If the President did that, he would leave with his reputation in tact. Hillary Clinton would likely run in his place, and perhaps Jeb Bush would jump in the race. Either way, if Hillary or Jeb ran, they would likely win re-election, which would mean that in 8 years, Obama could run again. He would be 58, with a lot more experience under his belt. He would be a formidable candidate and because he would still have a good reputation (because he left at the right time), he would be more popular than ever.

The President care’s about his place in history (all Presidents do). He can be a true hero to all if he announces he is quitting now to gain some more experience in the private sector. Who knows, he might learn something.

John Feehery is President of Communications and Director of Government Affairs for Quinn Gillespie and Associates, Washington, D.C.’s top public affairs firm. He is also a frequent commentator on the political landscape, widely quoted around the country and often seen on such television programs as CNN’s The Situation Room, MSNBC’s Hardball, and Bloomberg Television’s Money and Politics. He is also a contributor to The Hill’s “Pundits Blog.”

NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.

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