This is from the blog "Juxtapinions" which I have started with my friend Michelle. While there will be one post from each of us there every day, I will still very much be using this blog to vent my conservative frustrations. I will also be copying the posts from there over here. Enjoy!
In a few hours I must but farewell to President George W Bush. I have no qualms at all in admitting I am one of the 22% who currently approve of the job he has done as president, and I have always been in that category. I have always felt that President Bush has done what he felt was right and did the best that he could do. Those who judge him or consider him incompetent probably have no idea the pressures that the job entails and really, have no right to judge his character. I have found the disrespect shown toward President Bush over the last eight years to be completely reprehensible. He was your President. If you don’t like it, move to another country and renounce your citizenship.
To that end, I hope to not see the same disrespect shown toward President-Elect Obama. I will support him, even though I do not agree with him policies, as he is my president. The great thing about a democracy is that there are sometimes not results that you like, but you must live with them nonetheless.
And live with them I will. I wish President-Elect Obama the best. I hope with all my being that he can turn this economic crisis around and continue President Bush’s legacy of keeping America free from a terrorist attack. I hope that he can end the centuries-old conflict between Palestine and Israel. I hope he can make Iran a nuclear-free country, and I hope he can make Iraq a stable beacon of democracy in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, I do not believe that this will happen. That’s the funny thing about hope- it often falters when confronted with reality. During his campaign, Obama implied that all of the change he proposed could happen instantly. That the minute he was elected everything would be better. His acceptance speech on election night, however, negated this, and the crowd was left dumbstruck. Thus hope was confronted with reality, and change was derailed.
Like I said, I hope that Obama can change things for the better and that America can become stable once more. It is unlikely, but that’s another funny thing about hope: it laughs in the face of logic.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sudden Realizations
Around midday last Monday, a sudden realization came to me.
On Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the next President of the United States.
It seems like such a long time has passed since November. I know that every day on the news there is something about a new cabinet appointment of Obama's, what dog he is going to bring to the White House (like it really matters) and his plans for his first day in office.
None of this seemed to phase me thought. It all seemed like random news bits that didn't matter. All of it showed the progression towards his swearing in, but none of it seemed that way.
That is, until Thursday and President Bush's farewell address to the nation. I will admit with pride that I am one of the 22% of Americans that approve of his job as president, and I have for the last eight years. I have, without hesitation, expressed my disgust with those wearing "Not My President" shirts or those attacking his family or character. It is fine to disagree with his policies and decisions, but he is everyone's president. If you don't like it, become a citizen of another country.
And to this end, I refuse to participate with some who choose to disrespect President-Elect Obama by calling him "Barry" or "B. Hussein Obama," as Ann Coulter does repeatedly in her latest book. I will not wish him ill or hope for misfortune to come his way.
I hope he has a successful presidency. That he brings prosperity to America and manages to turn our economic crisis around. He is my president, whether I like it or not, and whether I voted for him or not. America has spoken and, while I believe that they made a horribly wrong decision, I have to live with it. Because I am an American and believe in democracy, even when the results of it are not those I hoped for.
However, I do not wish too much luck for the President-Elect, for I am fully confident in a Republican victory in 2012! Giuliani/Daniels, anyone?
On Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the next President of the United States.
It seems like such a long time has passed since November. I know that every day on the news there is something about a new cabinet appointment of Obama's, what dog he is going to bring to the White House (like it really matters) and his plans for his first day in office.
None of this seemed to phase me thought. It all seemed like random news bits that didn't matter. All of it showed the progression towards his swearing in, but none of it seemed that way.
That is, until Thursday and President Bush's farewell address to the nation. I will admit with pride that I am one of the 22% of Americans that approve of his job as president, and I have for the last eight years. I have, without hesitation, expressed my disgust with those wearing "Not My President" shirts or those attacking his family or character. It is fine to disagree with his policies and decisions, but he is everyone's president. If you don't like it, become a citizen of another country.
And to this end, I refuse to participate with some who choose to disrespect President-Elect Obama by calling him "Barry" or "B. Hussein Obama," as Ann Coulter does repeatedly in her latest book. I will not wish him ill or hope for misfortune to come his way.
I hope he has a successful presidency. That he brings prosperity to America and manages to turn our economic crisis around. He is my president, whether I like it or not, and whether I voted for him or not. America has spoken and, while I believe that they made a horribly wrong decision, I have to live with it. Because I am an American and believe in democracy, even when the results of it are not those I hoped for.
However, I do not wish too much luck for the President-Elect, for I am fully confident in a Republican victory in 2012! Giuliani/Daniels, anyone?
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