Reply #27: One Hell of a Job [View All]

[madamesilverspurs]

Economists and historians probably have names for the kind of times we're living in. For my money, the best term would be "aftermath". To be sure previous presidents have had to deal with problems and crises of almost every description. But no president has ever faced the kind of task that awaited the post-Bush nation. Unlike his predecessor, Obama does not regard the Constitution as a barrier to his ambition, "just a damned piece of paper" that is to be subverted and circumvented. Unlike his predecessor, this President understands the reasons for and the enduring purpose behind the concept of balance of powers between the branches of government. Unlike his predecessor, Obama values those principles that lie at the foundation of our system of governance, and because he values those principles he doesn't cheapen them by turning them into trite sales pitches that quickly become cloying and pathetic. There's something to be said for any man whose dedication to the country is measured by so much more than whether or not he wears a made-in-China flag pin on his lapel.

The depredations of the previous administration are still being uncovered, the breadth of the civil vandalism is still stunning in its extensiveness. We are only now beginning to see a wider understanding of how dangerously close we were brought to the precipice, that we were very nearly pitched headlong into a fascist non-paradise. We were damned near undone by an inside job run by people whose lack of care for others was already legendary, and I look forward to the day when their actions can be laid bare and exposed unequivocally for the treasons they were. There was no precedent, thank God, for dealing with that kind of thing, no guide book detailing the processes required - because no President in our history has had to wade through such leftover slime.

Obama's moment in history is extraordinary, not because of the color of his skin but because he is treading on unexplored terrain. Crises born of both nature and human corruption have compounded the already daunting task of captaining the ship of state, all this while the "loyal" opposition continues to declare its intent to destroy his presidency. And each and every one of US has ideas about which need holds highest priority and we don't hesitate to bitch at him at every opportunity.

Have there been disappointments? Yes. Surprises? Those, too. And through it all has been the sound of the work required to clean up the mess so that rebuilding can commence. Eight long years of destruction left of pile of debris that is simply going to require a long damn time to sort through and deal with. The petulant foot-stomping impatience that characterized the last president is delightfully absent in the current executive. This President thinks and listens and studies and considers.

There may well be millions who choose to wallow in their disappointment. But there are millions more who support this President. Our country deserves nothing less than a job done right instead of a quick fix. The promises of the energized electorate reside in us, you and me. The slogan was "Yes We Can" not "Yes He Can", and we need to be about the business of remembering that.