It’s been awhile since I posted. Been underwater with work – in this economy, you take it when you get it!
Thank goodness the inauguration is tomorrow. I can’t stand much more of it. I wish Obama well and hope that he’s succesful. He’s our president and right about now a failed presidency would spell disaster. I am positive that I won’t agree with all of his policies and initiatives but that was also true for some of the previous residents or our White House.
One thing is for sure: Mr. Obama will have to struggle mightily and be exceedingly lucky to come anywhere near meeting the expectations that many hold for him. An old hand told me shortly after I was elected that succesful leaders carefully control the level of expectation surrounding issues or actions. The populist in me chafes at such a notion as I normally want to shoot for the moon. However, that old hand was right and I believe we will all agree that there is little rational behind what many believe Obama will be able to get done.
After all, the day after Obama is sworn in isn’t the day that everything will change. It’s Wednesday. It might mark the beginning of a great change in our country but the timeline for anything of substance is necessarily measured in months and years, not days.
Our country is in a fine mess and untangling that will take everything this guy has for quite some time. For all of our sakes, I hope that Obama is a succesful leader but only time will tell.
January 20, 2009 at 8:18 am
It already feels that Obama has been President for four years.
To figure out if Obama is going to be successful, one only has to look at how the States of California and New York are doing. California, even though headed now a moderate Repub, is finally showing what years of liberal leadership will do the economy and a State. Arnold is hamstrung by all of the social programs, high taxes, user fees etc, that to even suggest cutting them is pointless.
NY is looking at taxing everything from ipod downloads to smiles(OK the last one is made up, but not far from the truth).
Add the fact not only do the Dems control Congress, but they are California Dems, which as a whole are more liberal then a liberal from Virginia(at least for now), and we are looking at a very bleak future.
Already Congress has shown they are willing to tax and spend. They raised the federal tax on a pack of Cigarettes by 62 cents to pay for the increase costs of schip they passed. Now, I’m not a smoker, but it seems to me that libs also want to do away with smoking, so why increase the tax on something you want to get rid of? Also, why punish cigarette smokers to pay for the health care costs of others?
Fast forward a few years, there is an additional decrease in smoking, which of course means less tax revenue for Congress to pay for schip. The increase is already on the books, they just need to maintain the costs of the then current program. Where do they get the money? They can either increase the tax on smokes or take money from elsewhere.
We are looking at huge tax and spend programs(The myth of pay as your go).Throw in the concern that we might possibly have already reached the point the Feds are no longer able to get the rest of the World to buy our debt and we are looking at a very not so bright future.
January 20, 2009 at 9:17 am
I see nothing yet that leads me to believe tomorrow will be any different than 4 or 8 or 12 or 16 years ago. Campaigns that made pie in the sky promises and failed to deliver on them. Sorry maybe I’m being too cynical but I’m not drinking the “change” kool-aid yet. I foresee more expectation managed down coming than expectations exceeded. But Mr. President, you can prove me wrong.
Yeah CoM, pretty dumb huh? The feds raise cig tax and now Richmond wants to also! Who’s next? City cigarette tax?!?
January 20, 2009 at 9:30 am
David,
I love how Obama warned us against a third term for Bush, yet we are going to have a Clinton’s third term.
He already said in an interview last week, that is likely not going to be able to keep all of his campaign promises. Yup, and water is wet. However, he also said he was a different type of politician who wanted to end the politics of old. Maybe instead of running for President, he should have been a used car salesman.
January 20, 2009 at 9:55 am
I’m flying the flag in front of my house this morning in honor of our new President and to give thanks for how our great country accomplishes a peaceful transition of power every four years. The flag I am flying is the flag that was placed on the coffin of my father, a WWII veteran and bronze star recipient, who died thirty-nine years ago this month. As an American citizen I look forward to doing everything I can to ensure that our new President is able to solve our nation’s problems.
January 20, 2009 at 10:55 am
Richard,
Thanks. Unlike most of the media and a good number of liberals who did everything in their power to not support and help our outgoing President, you at least have tact and manners.
January 20, 2009 at 6:53 pm
A good post Andy – on the mark. And thank you Mr. Meyer for
your thoughtful observations. Like him or not, President Obama
is our leader for the next four years and his success in
achieving peace and prosperity will be our success. We are in
this together.
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They
will not be met easily or in a short pan of time. But know this,
America – they will be met.” Amen.
January 20, 2009 at 6:57 pm
And lets hope that white does right.
January 21, 2009 at 9:21 am
“This was not the sound of candidate Barack Obama but President
Obama, not the sound of the man who appealed to the left wing
of his party, but one attempting to appeal to the center of the nation.
It was not a joyous, audacious document, not a call to arms, but
a reasoned statement by a Young Sobersides.”
Peggy Noonan
WSJ (1-21-2009)
January 21, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Please. Anyone who wants to appeal to the Center, does not say stuff Obama did yesterday. He claims that we have not been concerned with suffering beyond our borders, how we will reclaim leadership, etc, etc. Those are all myths put out by the left.
Obama also opened up his term with a release stating he will fix the broken promises of President Bush regarding the rebuilding of New Orleans. Yup, we are in a new age of unity and the ditching of the old dogma.