The new President of United States of America was sworn in today with much fanfare. Barack Hussein Obama, 47, in his inaugural speech promised a new era of "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." The 44th president of the United States has a lot of work ahead of him and very little time to accomplish it... three years and if he is lucky, a second term. The most powerful weapon President Obama has in his arsenal is the vast majority of Americans want him to succeed and a complaint Democratic controlled Congress.
From this moment on the honeymoon is over and the hard job of leading our nation back from the abyss begins. Of course we will hear a lot of saber rattling about the first "100 days" being a litmus test of the new administration but the ultimate success or failure will take longer. All this notwithstanding, urgency is the key word that needs to be used. Like former Vice President Al Gore stated in the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", "we don't have a lot of time to play around with this stuff." Time is ticking and the world is not waiting for America to "rediscover itself" or grow up and lead by example. Hate to sound like an alarmist, but our window of opportunity is very small and we are in serious danger of becoming irrelevant or worse yet, a "Sunset Power" as Korea has called us, using military might to prolong our fading American empire. Time is indeed ticking and the hour is very late and we all know the outcome if our government continues to ignore the problem, continues to undermine the tenets of our democracy. The next eight years will be real crucial for our country and no amount of political lip service from our elected officials is going to be sufficient to stem the tidal wave of pain and suffering if we don't make the hard choices now.
Like all Americans, I smile at the thought that forty years after Dr. King led the fight to wipe away the ugly stain of segregation in our country, we celebrate the inauguration of the first black man to become Commander and Chief. Today is a moment in American history that our great grandchildren will read about and rightfully so. Its not everyday, that we witness a tremor in The Force.
From this moment on the honeymoon is over and the hard job of leading our nation back from the abyss begins. Of course we will hear a lot of saber rattling about the first "100 days" being a litmus test of the new administration but the ultimate success or failure will take longer. All this notwithstanding, urgency is the key word that needs to be used. Like former Vice President Al Gore stated in the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", "we don't have a lot of time to play around with this stuff." Time is ticking and the world is not waiting for America to "rediscover itself" or grow up and lead by example. Hate to sound like an alarmist, but our window of opportunity is very small and we are in serious danger of becoming irrelevant or worse yet, a "Sunset Power" as Korea has called us, using military might to prolong our fading American empire. Time is indeed ticking and the hour is very late and we all know the outcome if our government continues to ignore the problem, continues to undermine the tenets of our democracy. The next eight years will be real crucial for our country and no amount of political lip service from our elected officials is going to be sufficient to stem the tidal wave of pain and suffering if we don't make the hard choices now.
Like all Americans, I smile at the thought that forty years after Dr. King led the fight to wipe away the ugly stain of segregation in our country, we celebrate the inauguration of the first black man to become Commander and Chief. Today is a moment in American history that our great grandchildren will read about and rightfully so. Its not everyday, that we witness a tremor in The Force.
4 comments:
I have faith & hope that he will be a Great President. Granted he is inheriting a mess with the war, our economy just to name a few of the nations problem but lets keep it positive & give him the benefit of the doubt.
Whhaatt'ss Uppppppp?
The truth of that matter is that the prior administration set up the new president(whom ever it may have been) for failure. The opportunity for such a great moment in history has already been tranished by the vilians who have long been in control and continue to be in control behind the scenes. No matter what happens in the next couple of years the man is working behind the eightball and the hope of the people will remain because the people did not make the hard decissions they were supposed to make in 2004.
Well said. His task is huge. His speech had the perfect blend of informing us of his hopes but also of the realities of the difficulties of these tasks. Don't think one term will do it. I hope he is not only remembered for being the first black president, but also "the president" that propels our nation into prosperous times again!
Just don't think that Obama is not aware of the challenges facing him. He is a brilliant and ambitiuos man. He wants to show the world that a "Black Man" saved America. That unity and brotherhood is more powerful thatn self interest. Unlike Bush, Obama is working on his legacy from day one. He also realises that it is harder to demonize someone if you know them personally. That is why he is meeting so many republican journalists and senators. He will use them all to make America the place we want to live.
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