President Obama

It's been since President Kennedy that we had a President with a 3 syllable last name. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm not sure about much of what President Obama means to me. I have such mixed feelings about our new President. On one hand, I'm so proud of my country for electing a black President. I grew up in the rural south. In junior high i saw two racial fights. I'm certain race is still an issue in my hometown, but this is a huge step in the direction of colorblindness. As a Xenophiliac I'm also excited that the election of President Obama seems to have instantly healed some international relationships that have been strained for quite some time. The rising Anti-American sentiment that i started to feel in El Salvador (a fairly pro-America place) 8 years ago seems to be suppressed and waning. That makes me happy! I love that President Obama might make it easier on me to travel. (Now if we could stop American tourists in other countries from being arrogant idiots we'd have it made.) The other thing i love about President Obama is his natural charisma. i think he could say the exact same sentences as President Bush and people would think it was some wisdom from the Dalai Lama because he's so darn charismatic. On the international stage i think his genuine respect for other cultures and countries, along with his charisma will go a long way toward winning the respect of the world back and quelling the misunderstandings that inevitably take place. On the other hand, President Obama does not seem to share many of my values. i don't feel that equal rights means that i have an equal right to another man's money. i also don't feel that taxing small businesses or forcing them to provide health care will help America. America is built on small business. That is why stores like Costco and Sam's Club exist. His plans for small business just might put my aging parents out of business. i can't feel positively about that. To be honest his socialist leanings scare me. The other thing that bothers me is his complete unwillingness to take a stand on moral issues. We still don't know how he feels about abortion, although he vote right down the line with Democrats most of the time. We know he doesn't think gay marriage is right, but he condones it. Early on, he was unwilling to take a stand on political issues too. He often deferred his opinion to others during the Democratic debates. While i think it's wise to make decisions with the counsel of others, i think that a leader should be able to voice his opinion without equivocation.

So as you can see, I'm terribly mixed up, but one thing i do know is, i won't treat Mr. Obama like so much of our country has treated Mr. Bush. If i differ, i will differ respectfully.