Getting My Head Around It
I have so many thoughts about President Obama. The first is that it's pretty cool saying President Obama.
I think that my overwhelming emotion is optimism that finally the country is being run by the right person. After 8 years of wondering whether the president was going to do the right thing (and usually being disappointed), I now believe that he will. After 8 years of losing my voice in the car shouting "NO, YOU ASSHOLE!" at George Bush, I find myself losing my voice shouting "Amen!" and "Thank you!" at Barack Obama. I am deeply grateful that the first president my children will know, the one who will shape their concept of what a president should be, will be Barack Obama.
I was a bit disappointed that much of the rhetoric today is/has been about the troubles facing the country and the call to service. I think that many people, like myself, would like to have heard more of the soaring, goose-bump inducing speeches like the one at the DNC in 2004. Or perhaps even just special emphasis on "the United States of America", echoing the "no red states, no blue states" theme.
That said, I thought the speech was the right speech. It demonstrated several things. The first thing that struck me was how he was not afraid to come right out and say what he was going to do differently from Bush, even with Bush sitting right there. It was a very clear signal that, "I'm president now, and I don't have to pussy-foot around anymore." It also foreshadowed his intent to take charge forcefully on Day 1. This guy has been waiting for 2 1/2 months now. He's had plenty of time to plan his first moves. And it looks like he's not going to mess around. Good on him!
The second thing that I took away from the speech was that he was already pivoting from inspiration to leadership. The "call to service" theme may not have struck the same chord as "Ask not what your country can do for you...". But the message was clearly that he intends to cash in on the moment, to use the spotlight and the enormous popularity he enjoys to do more than just make people feel good. If only a fraction of the people who heard his speech today actually go out and volunteer in their communities (and I suspect that it will be only a fraction), that will still mean thousands of people getting out and making the world a little better. People who wouldn't have done so otherwise. That's leadership.
And it got me to wondering whether I would be one of the thousands who do or one of the millions who don't. I already serve on my HOA board of directors, and I serve on a citizens' advisory committee for parks and recreation. Is that enough? It's not feeding the poor or housing the homeless or teaching school children or anything like that. But it is service of a sort. And, right about now, it's about all I can handle, what with a full-time job (which often requires me to travel), and a growing family. But I appreciate what our president is asking us to do, and I hope the day will come when more satisfying opportunities will be open to me.
For now, I'm just going to get used to saying President Obama.
I think that my overwhelming emotion is optimism that finally the country is being run by the right person. After 8 years of wondering whether the president was going to do the right thing (and usually being disappointed), I now believe that he will. After 8 years of losing my voice in the car shouting "NO, YOU ASSHOLE!" at George Bush, I find myself losing my voice shouting "Amen!" and "Thank you!" at Barack Obama. I am deeply grateful that the first president my children will know, the one who will shape their concept of what a president should be, will be Barack Obama.
I was a bit disappointed that much of the rhetoric today is/has been about the troubles facing the country and the call to service. I think that many people, like myself, would like to have heard more of the soaring, goose-bump inducing speeches like the one at the DNC in 2004. Or perhaps even just special emphasis on "the United States of America", echoing the "no red states, no blue states" theme.
That said, I thought the speech was the right speech. It demonstrated several things. The first thing that struck me was how he was not afraid to come right out and say what he was going to do differently from Bush, even with Bush sitting right there. It was a very clear signal that, "I'm president now, and I don't have to pussy-foot around anymore." It also foreshadowed his intent to take charge forcefully on Day 1. This guy has been waiting for 2 1/2 months now. He's had plenty of time to plan his first moves. And it looks like he's not going to mess around. Good on him!
The second thing that I took away from the speech was that he was already pivoting from inspiration to leadership. The "call to service" theme may not have struck the same chord as "Ask not what your country can do for you...". But the message was clearly that he intends to cash in on the moment, to use the spotlight and the enormous popularity he enjoys to do more than just make people feel good. If only a fraction of the people who heard his speech today actually go out and volunteer in their communities (and I suspect that it will be only a fraction), that will still mean thousands of people getting out and making the world a little better. People who wouldn't have done so otherwise. That's leadership.
And it got me to wondering whether I would be one of the thousands who do or one of the millions who don't. I already serve on my HOA board of directors, and I serve on a citizens' advisory committee for parks and recreation. Is that enough? It's not feeding the poor or housing the homeless or teaching school children or anything like that. But it is service of a sort. And, right about now, it's about all I can handle, what with a full-time job (which often requires me to travel), and a growing family. But I appreciate what our president is asking us to do, and I hope the day will come when more satisfying opportunities will be open to me.
For now, I'm just going to get used to saying President Obama.