I just read this Huffington Post about how President Obama should be doing a better job applying the ideals of his campaign to his presidency. I for one think he is doing a good job considering his administration is built of a lot of the same political players of the left that we saw in the last Dem presidency. One of the major reasons why I voted for Obama is because he represented a change in the practice of politics in our country. In effect I felt Obama was looking to give the country back to the American people and take it back from corporate America. Of course carrying out the stimulus bill proposed by Bush was not ideal but it was a decision that had to be made to protect this economy from falling deeper into depression.
I would not go as far to say 'the change sucks so far' like I saw on this bumper sticker the other day. The truth is that things are changing and they are in fact changing very fast despite the grumpy old men who desire to slow the process with their grumbling (if you don't know who I'm talking about just turn on Fox News for a while you'll figure it out). Change is inevitable and there was only one better time to change things (when FDR proposed the second Bill of Rights) in my opinion. In that article Arianna talks about how she would like President Obama to be more bold in his actions which reminds me of a fanatic boxing fan who wants to see a particular fight. I think President Obama is more of a tactful person than to barge in a room and start knocking over the china. Obama is wise enough to pick his battles and develop relationships in effect making allies and not enemies. This presidency to me has already been the most interactive presidency of my lifetime.
The thing that set the Obama campaign aside is that it engaged the voters to feel like their efforts mattered. So now that he is in office don't just sit on your ass whether you're happy with what he is doing now or not. Get up and do something. If you like what Obama is doing support him. If you don't like what Obama is doing push him to go in the room and break some china but whatever it is do not sit back and watch like you did when Bush was in office. Be the change you want to see.
At the end of the day I don't see this country being the same place where people are looking to gather more stuff than the next man. I see this country growing into a place where we actually work for the greater good and the success of America. Some of you may not like the idea of spreading the wealth around because like Joe the Plumber you have dreams of being Oprah rich. That's cool there's nothing wrong with aspirations as I have big dreams like that too but I also realize achieving those dreams is not possible for all of us. What Obama is saying when he says he wants to 'spread the wealth' around is that 'charity starts at home.' Very simply we need to return to these kinds of values in order to get this country to where we want it to be. How are we the best country when we have so many homeless people? How are we the best country when we can't even manage our money? To me Obama represents us and we need to stop thinking about me and start thinking about we. We need to realize that the old way wasn't working and figure out how we are going to make this place a better place. Be the change you want to see.
Here is the article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/obama-one-year-later-the_b_343209.html
