Soooo.... I’m really excited that Obama is President. Like, really, really excited. I’m not too into politics, but this year (and probably being an independent woman now) has definitely piqued my interest.
Seeing him as our President gives me so much hope for the future. Along with all of the political, social, and economic change he hopes to make, one thing I really appreciate about him are his skills as a representative, diplomat, and just an all-around great public figure. I believe that these roles are crucial to the President’s job description, and this is one area (of many) where ol’ W failed miserably. I was overseas when W was in office, and it’s true... when Americans are represented by an idiot cowboy, the rest of the world perceives us as such. We lost a lot of respect and overall international friendliness by his demeanor and actions.
Obama is extremely well put together, friendly, articulate, and yes, charismatic. This is what leaders are supposed to be like! How can people distrust someone because they are good at their job?! Has the bar for Presidents been set so low by W that we distrust anyone that rises above it? Here is one of my favorite quotes about this sad phenomenon: "Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man." - Bertrand Russell
Of course many other areas are important, but I also think that the executive power was sorely abused these last two terms. Although I mostly agree with Obama’s platform and ideas, I hope that he does not abuse his executive power. The most abuse I’d like to see is him reversing the wrongs of the former administration, like he did by repealing the Global Gag Rule. Whoo!
One thing I am a little afraid of is getting too excited about the future. The economic stimulus package scares me, mostly because I don’t understand economics very well and nothing is really a sure fix for the crisis we’re in. But I sure as hell don’t prescribe to the "trickle-down" effect (and neither do any real economists), so I’m glad that if a solution is provided, it’s going to help those that need it, as well as stimulate business and provide jobs.
All in all, I think Obama will be great. He may not magically fix the country overnight, or right all wrongs in his first term, but he is a breath of fresh air that this country needs.
Si, se puede!
2 comments:
congrats on breaking free from conservative viewpoints! my family's pretty liberal so it was fairly easy for me to be liberal as well, but i definitely felt the republican wrath when hanging out with hs friends. i even went home crying once from mckim's house cause it was eight cons against me, the one lib. it sucked, but i was proud to be different.
yeah, remember when we went and christina thatcher was there and it got into an abortion debate? and a debate about bush? sometimes i get pretty biased against big repubs, like with mckims i was like, "but i thought they were such nice people!" like them being conservative makes them not... haha.
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