Opinion
Obama worthy of careful optimism
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Also by Tom Schalmo:
- Clegg loses cool in tray battle (April 30, 2009)
- Darryl Schnell: 1983-2009 (April 13, 2009)
- End judicial elections (April 6, 2009)
- ASM's outreach a painful failure (February 26, 2009)
After years of knocking on doors, placing phone calls, hanging flyers on lamposts and chalking university sidewalks, the faithful supporters of President Barack Obama could sit back with pride as their icon was sworn into office on Tuesday.
But with the blink of an eye — or a botched 35-word oath of office — that was it. The man who promised hope and change and reform is now the president. The work to get him there is over. He garnered more votes. The “-elect” part has been dropped from his title. Sasha and Malia are going to school in D.C. Grandma has moved in to help out.
It’s official: Obama is president. So now what?
The expectation levels for Obama are high, and rightfully so. The promises he made on the campaign trail for wide-sweeping change across the spectrum provides for a massive agenda. Unfortunately, it’s an agenda that cannot be fully accomplished.
On Obama’s side, obviously, is the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and Senate. That should help him move quite a bit of legislation through, even though he will still need to work with Republicans to allow their voices to be heard.
But this nation faces incredible challenges — economonic conditions are not at Great Depression levels but are still in poor shape, and pulling the troops out of Iraq cannot be done with a simple snap of the fingers. Then there are initiatives on health care, energy, education… and just a couple others.
Expectation levels for Obama are at nearly unprecedented levels. One of the first came with his inaugural address after being sworn in. I was one of many Americans who expected a speech that was as moving and significant as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. While I didn’t think the speech was bad by any stretch of the imagination, I certainly wasn’t blown away.
The moment, of course, was extraordinary. The fact that an black man who united so much of the country, who inspired countless Americans young and old and who might have had trouble simply voting 50 years ago stood on the steps of our nation’s Capitol to take the office was one of the finest moments in our nation’s history.
But the speech simply didn’t live up to my expectations. The delivery was standard Obama, but I would have enjoyed a little less of the subtle bashing of the past eight years and a broader theme regarding where this nation is headed. Knowing the love affair most of this community has with Obama, let’s just go ahead and agree to disagree about the speech.
My point is this: Obama faces the momumental task of living up to all of his voters’ expectations. He thinks he can achieve it, but he cannot just snap his fingers and turn Washington into that “It’s a Small World” ride at Walt Disney World where everyone gets along. We need to come to the realization that Obama and his team simply can’t get everything done right away and probably won’t get everything done in the next four years.
One of Obama’s challenges will be figuring out how he can improve the everyday lives not of the people who are googly eyed for him but rather the mother in Waukesha County who hadn’t voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter. (Yes, I know one.) Obama has to appeal to, forgive me, the Joe the Plumbers who voted his way.
Polls indicate the American people are ready to be patient with Obama, and we must be. On one hand, Obama must have an impact on everyone, but we must remember he does not have superpowers and we must shift our expectations of him from insane to realistic.
Tom Schalmo (tschalmo@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism.
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Candidate Barrack Hussein Obama: “I will once and for all dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”
Mr. Obama used “responsibility” as a recurring theme in his inauguration address. We listened. We believed. We are holding him responsible for keeping his commitments. It is not our (voters) expectations that are unreasonable. We want to believe that Mr. Obama is an man of integrity. And men of integrity follow through on their commitments.
If Mr. Obama doesn’t follow through on this and his legion of other grandeous pronouncements, he lied.
You know, that might just make a great bumper sticker: “Obama Lied!”. Oh, how rich with irony!
It’s sad to see all the “MY President is black” shirts.
I’d rather see “OUR President is Black”.
Imagine the hand-wringing if anyone had ever had a “My President is white” shirt.
It seems that there’s no bigot like a black bigot.
You’re right, Tom, about “careful” optimism. Obama seems to be continuing the deficit spending practice of Bush and so many other Republicans. And the fact that he has backed off from the windfall tax on oil companies from last year is not encouraging. I’d give him a couple of years to at least stop the bleeding, but he’s gonna have to stop giving our tax money to banks that are squandering it.
“who hadn’t voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter”
Now THAT makes me feel good. Carter is probaly the worst President of the last century and is the worst ex-president ever.
I do have some hope that Barry HO will not be as bad as Mr Peanut was.
Mr. Obama is worthy of the same treatment that Mr. Bush received. No more. No less.
In Mr. Obamas inaugural address, he stressed responsibility. By his own stated responsibility standard, We the People have every expectation that he will keep his campaign declarations. We have every right to demand that he does. He doesn’t get a ‘pass’ because he is inexperienced, or half black, or glib tongued.
For example, in a nationally broadcast debate with Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama stated emphatically “I will once and for all dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”
As a native American deeply concerned about the very high potential for more muslim terrorist attacks on my neighbors, family and homeland, I expect and demand Mr. Obama stand by his pledge and make this responsibility priority number 1.
If he pursues this pledge and achieves success, I will laud him. If his pledge proves to be empty campaign rhetoric, I will be displaying and selling T shirts and bumper stickers that declare “Obama Lied!”
As I said, Mr. Obama is worthy of the same treatment that Mr. Bush received. No more. No less.
Invictus Maneo
Invictus Maneo: More Native Americans have been killed by the good old White Man in the history of the U.S. than by Muslims.
Idiotarian spat: “More Native Americans have been killed by the good old White Man in the history of the U.S. than by Muslims”
Right. Muslims didn’t kill Native Americans. They were too busy wiping out native populations from Spain to the Phillipines and everywhere in between. Nations in the Organization of Islamic States remain busy even today effectively extirpating the native non-Muslim populations. Witness Darfur, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Bosnia, etc., ad nauseum.
“Mr. Obama is worthy of the same treatment that Mr. Bush received. “
Anyone treating Obama as poorly and disrespectfully as Bush was/is treated will be pilloried as a racist SOB, tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.
Call Bush McChimpy Bushitler all you like but don’t you DARE comment on Barry Ho’s ears!
Predator Strikes Under Obama Much Like Ones Under Bush
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Obama ordered a predator strike to go forward in Pakistan:
But wait, it killed children—what Rethuglicans and Wingnuts call “collateral damage”. The anti-warriors must be horrified and screaming about this egregious use of force against civilians, right?
Let’s see.
http://environmentalrepublican.blogspot.com/2009/01/predator-strikes-under-obama-much-like.html
Despite Air-Raiding Villages, Closing Gitmo, Pi$$ing Off the Vatican & Berating GOP Leaders… AP Claims Obama Avoided Divisive Stands His First Week
Could our Pravda Media be any more transparent in their devotion to Obama?
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/despite-bombing-ally-closing-gitmo.html