There was a bit of stumbling at first during the swearing in but it was smoothed out quickly enough. Makes me wonder how many will take up on that as a bad omen. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if some actually did as sad as it sounds.

Anyway…

It was a hell of a speech that threw a hell of a lot of responsibility on the government’s shoulders—and a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the American people as well and that’s the way it should be. When it comes to running a country nothing is ever one sided…ever.

For too long now “we the people” have been complacent with our lot in life and this year most decidedly woke us right up now didn’t it? And now we have a brand new, just sworn in, [already] history making President in the White House and he’s going to have one hell of a busy term starting tomorrow. I hope he appreciates his 47 years ‘cos he’s going to need all the energy he can get.

If there was just one major point he got across in his speech it was that the only way we’re ever going to be able to tackle these obstacles and conundrums that we face on our own soil and abroad is to work together, people and government, to make it happen and for the first time in my adult life I feel that we actually have a chance to do this. On the other side of the coin I also realize that we equally have a chance to screw things up royally, both people and government.

I have no idea if we’ll be able to take care of all the things that were mentioned during that speech especially in the light that these situations Obama ticked off are very true indeed, there’s no denying their existence. He has one huge job to do…

…and so do we.

I wonder if this country, President, Government and People, can actually pull this off.

I’ll just leave it at that for now. I need lunch, my blood sugar is getting low.

Would that I would see the day when my country should elect a black president. If someone were to ask me 10 years ago if I thought this would happen I would have given them a sad smile and replied that I rather doubt it. So I lived to see the beginning of the 21st century and nearly a decade into it things remained “business as usual” and worse. The wars continue, my country being ridiculed and even hated, big politicians with their dirty hands in big oil holding back any sort of progress involving alternative energy and environmental clean up—same shit, different day, different decade, different century. It was utterly depressing.

Then came November 4th, 2008 and on that day, against all odds (and those odds were damn high) Americans woke themselves up from their complacency long enough to elect a black president. Would you believe it? If, at the beginning of this presidential election you were asked if you thought that in 2008 we would elect a black president, what would you have replied I wonder?

Earlier this year I wrote a post where I bluntly stated that I did not want another old guy as my president. That I was sick and tired of the “same old, same old”, that it was time for a change. I was simply fed up with having the person running my country being 3 steps away from a stroke, heart attack or an assisted living environment. Someone who has decades to look back on and perhaps less than a decade to look forward to. There’s always the exception but what do you want to bet these type of elderly, forward looking folks actually end up as president?

Don’t get me wrong, I have enormous respect for my elders (as long as they deserve it, that is…) and it’s my opinion that our elders should be advising our president, not sitting in the center seat. You want to be a 75 year old senator, fine…no problem, but you ain’t headed for no oval office.

So it looks like I got my wish, as far fetched as it seemed. Originally, I had hoped for Hillary to be the one heading up the Democratic party but this may even be better (she just made my “not over 60 years of age” limit). And just so there’s no confusion here, I don’t give a rat’s behind what color and/or gender and/or sexual preference my president is just as long as they can do the job at hand.  It also renews my faith in my country that America is still able to rise above their own hates, prejudices and discontent to make a good common sense decision.

Now, does this mean that Obama will get the job done? Does it mean that he won’t end up just as corrupt as the rest of them? No, it doesn’t, not in the least. Only time will tell whether we made the right decision or not but the simple fact that “We, the People” were actually able to overcome ourselves long enough to elect a black president tells me that “We, the People” are (hopefully) finally beginning to grow up.

Are you going to vote according to race or the actual issues? The choice is yours. Don’t screw up.

Stephen C. Rose of The Huffington Post reflects my feelings quite well in a fairly short, to the point article I’ve excerpted below. Give it a read yourself and see what you think.

McCain is the man who crashed five jets, mistreated his wife, opposed Dr. King and would overturn Rowe v. Wade. He favors bombing anyone who does not fit in to the neocon agenda of forcing freedom everywhere while squelching it apace.

Stephen C. Rose: It’s McCain Stupid — Why McCain Is The Issue

I make it a point not to get too political on this blog nor am I that politically minded by nature but I’ve been drawn to the current election like a bee to pollen especially considering the current national and global situation. The next president is going to have one hell of a job on their hands and we need someone who is clear headed, open minded, intelligent and flexible. Someone who will refuse to resort to old, obsolete, narrow minded, “what’s in it for me?” way of doing things and McCain just doesn’t fit the bill.

There’s a whole lot of people, people that the general public will never know about until these good folks are most likely dead and gone, that put the safety of the people of not only this nation but the entire globe as a whole before everything else including health, welfare and even their own families to make sure this old world stayed just the way it was, problems and all. They succeeded and most of them paid dearly for it and I for one will not see it taken away by some befuddled old fool who appears more and more that he’s lost all sense of direction. Here’s another fine example (reading it won’t take long but the point is well made): McCain on banking and health

All this, of course, is purely subjective on my part and being too involved in old Cold War affairs I can hardly admit to offering an unbiased opinion however, just being experienced in those old Cold War affairs as I am, I know far too well what was nearly lost back then and it would be unbelievably sad and pathetic if we actually elected a President who, for all intensive purposes, would work hard at actually making things worse.

Alright…I’m done now.