Obama Report Card – A+ January 29, 2009

Do we like Obama? I think we do. Do we like him in Florida? I think many do. What do we think of the First Family as a whole? I think they’re the first “First Family” that comes across, as simply “nice people” with none of the trappings of the office. Obama has that stride which translates into confidence. He hugs and kisses people without all the B.S. protocol that seemed to dog past Presidents. While I think he cares what people think of him, he does not seem to be the type of guy who takes himself too seriously. In other words, if the people don’t like what he has to say (or does) while in office, he won’t take it to heart.

I think he’s a pretty good leader based upon his first few weeks in office. He’s seems to be charismatic to the point of disbelief. But, can we believe him? Will he do right by the American people or, is he just another President intent on coming out of the gate (quickly) and getting some high points during his first 100 days? I don’t know why we judge any President on his first 100 days in office but, it seems to be some type of tradition hyped up by the media. Is 100 days enough to judge any President? George Bush had many a hundred days to get something (anything) done and he spent more time putting out fires and raising the paranoia level of Americans to an all time high.

I think when history judges Bush, he’ll be known for the fight against terrorism but, little else. He won’t go down in history as being a President for the people. Obama, on the other hand, seems to have that mix of emotion and attitude that says, “Look, I’m the President of the free world, but, I’m not unapproachable”. In fact, he gives me a feeling that I could one day show up at the White House, run into him in a hallway and he’d shake my hand and maybe offer me a cup of coffee.

I look at Obama as a guy who watched movies like the ”American President” and “Dave”. We could all relate to Kevin Kline as “Dave” and I think we could relate to Michael Douglas as the type of fellow we’d want to see in the White House. We want (we need) a “regular guy” who orders hamburgers on Air Force One and tells a visitor to the White House “Yes, have a good look around but, don’t break anything”. We want to be able to relate to the man who’s the driving force behind “hope” and we want to be able to come to terms with sending our son’s and daughter’s off to war (when asked) and believe in the person who’s asking us to make that potential sacrifice.

I have a neighbor who told me that the First Lady is a racist and that she can’t stand white people. I nearly laughed in her face as I said to her “If the First Lady is a racist and does not like white people, I can see why, as there’s plenty of white people I don’t like either”.  Now, I find this statement hard to believe and quite frankly, where I’m from, the KKK is still alive and well in the neighborhood.  I think this is the fundamental problem we have in this country right now and it has to do with race. Time to get over it and move on.

I like the idea that Obama signed the bill for equal pay for women and, that was a long time coming. I think his stimulus package will do some good but, as with any “let’s get the economy going” scheme, there has to be some caution. Getting the troops out Iraq in 16 months, go for it and closing down Gitmo, no question about it. Bailing out banks on a weekly basis – I have my reservations on that idea, as do most Americans. But, for the most part, Obama has come out of the gate at a nice trot. He’s not sitting back and doling out his promises over a period of four years, hoping for another four, he’s acting on them now and that’s much more than what has happened in the last eight years.

All this said, I’m a tried and true Republican. However, I voted for Obama not because there was no one better than McCain or Palin “the butt of jokes”. No, I voted for Obama as my “gut” told me that he’s the one. I didn’t take his race, good looks or friendly nature into consideration when casting my vote. I voted for the “man” and his convictions. His message and his tone. In the end, I didn’t vote for him to make history – just to change it:-)