Obama: "No one is exempt from the call to find common ground"

As we celebrate the beginning of the new administration and face the large and serious challenges ahead, we have seen the seeds of common ground bear fruit during these past weeks.

The New Administration
In Fall 2008 our U.S.- Muslim Engagement Project, done in partnership with the Consensus Building Institute, issued a Report entitled "Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with The Muslim World." The Report recommended that the new President speak to the critical importance of improving relations with the global Muslim community in the 2009 inaugural address, and take key actions immediately to demonstrate a commitment to improving relations.

In his inaugural speech President Obama specifically addressed this by saying, "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." He has since taken concrete actions consistent with that statement. We are gratified that President Obama and the new administration recognize the symbolic significance of words and deeds of U.S. leadership in healing this relationship.

Healthcare Reform
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has been passed in the House of Representatives and awaits passage in the Senate. Reauthorization and expansion of the SCHIP program, one of the nations’ main programs to provide health coverage to low-income children and families, was one of the key recommendations of our Health Care Coverage for the Uninsured (HCCU) project that completed work in early 2007. It engaged an unprecedented array of leading organizations in the health care field.

"The HCCU project organized by SFCG helped create trust and ongoing cooperation among key leaders in the health care field. HCCU created lasting relationships of understanding and respect leading to the current round of expanded consensus building efforts. Once again, these same health care leaders are working together to find broad areas of agreement on a health care reform agenda. This newest effort to find common ground is critical to sustaining the momentum for significant federal health care reform and sends a very positive signal to President Obama and Congress about the potential for health care reform success."
— Kathleen Stoll, Deputy Executive Director and Director of Health Policy for Families USA, a leading consumer health group.

The Middle East
Common Ground Award recipient (1998) and former U.S. Senator, George Mitchell, has been appointed Special Envoy to the Middle East. After his Senate career ended in 1995, Mitchell was chosen by former President Bill Clinton to be U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland and was instrumental in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that eventually brought the sectarian conflict to an end.

At the press conference announcement, Mitchell said the Northern Ireland conflict had an 800-year history and appeared, two decades ago, to be just as intractable as the Middle East conflict seems to be now. His words this week echoed what he said in 1998 upon receiving the Common Ground Award — "Conflicts are created, conducted and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by human beings. I saw it happen in Northern Ireland, although admittedly it took a very long time. I believe deeply that with committed, persevering and patient diplomacy, it can happen in the Middle East."

Although it may take longer than we would like, we are proud of these achievements and we continue our efforts so that more seeds will blossom.

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