Ba-rock is How I Roll

With Barack Obama (BO) on the verge of being inaugurated as the 44th President of this nation my mind has been wondering of the things I'd like to see result from his election. Now I want to give a disclaimer to start with (this is for you Deb, and those who think like her). I do not expect Barack Obama to rise to become "Savior of America" nor have I ever believed that.

The first time I saw BO was on C-SPAN one night during the spring of 2007. He was encircled by a small crowd in a field in what looked to be a rural area. He was delineating his plans to improve policy in America regarding education, health care, the Iraq war, foreign relations and more. Before I landed on that channel I had never heard his name before. "Barack Obama, D-Senator, IL- Presidential Candidate" was posted on the bottom of the screen. After listening to him speak with passion about these issues I though to myself "I need to keep track of this guy because I have never heard someone relate to me like this". I don't need to provide you with a detailed timeline of how I became a BO supporter. However, All of this to say I have supported him and his ideas for longer than most of the millions who voted for him this last November. This is important because often times BO supporters are accused of "jumping on the Obama band wagon". The fact is I was on the wagon almost a year before BO was well known to the general American public.


This makes me feel special. Its like when you fall in love with a band that isn't well known, then throughout the next year you try to get your friends to listen to the band but nobody cares. All of a sudden your bands "new" single that you memorized a year ago comes on the radio and everyone goes nuts and starts singing along. All the while you feel ripped off cause you discovered the band, but people don't care. Regardless, you are just another band wagon jumper. Once more, all that to say people make me feel like that sometimes concerning my support for BO.


History lesson time! So FRD was the last President to take office during an economic hard time here in America, it was called the Great Depression, you may have heard of it. Throughout his 13 years in office he implemented multiple policies to "stimulate" the economy and stabilize it in the long run. His New Deals included creation of the Social Security System, and the FDIC among others. The other major issue he dealt with during his time in office was the second World War. He was also a major contributor to the creation of the UN which replace the League of Nations. The UN was created to help prevent future world wars. Superficially, that's FDR in a nut shell, no I'm not labeling him a nut.


Now fast forward to the present ZWOOOOOO! We find ourselves in a faltering economy and the Iraq War among many other issues. While its not a world war, its a war that has lasted longer than WWII. This sounds familiar, wait it is familiar! It sounds just like the 30's! Like back then, we now have to bring in a Democrat once to clean up the mess a republican made (you know I had to poke a little fun somewhere in here).


We, 53% of us at least, have placed BO in an extremely rare situation. Only a few presidents have had to deal with an economy like ours combined with a war time. Now I don't expect him to be without fault just as we shouldn't expect any President to be perfect. But I do expect him to keep his word to approach all issues with his administration to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. How long have you been doing your job and still make mistakes? I don't expect him to heal the sick. But I do expect him to provide a reasonable environment in which all Americans have their health care tended to. I don't expect him to make everyone wealthy. But I do expect him to manipulate the economy and taxation policies to be fair. I don't expect him to manage the Iraq war without casualties. But I do expect him to keep his word and manage it in a responsible considerate way that will set a landscape for Iraq to prosper. I don't expect him to cause all students to begin earning A's. But I do expect him to properly amend and fund education policy. I don't expect him to change Washington over night. But I do expect him to set an all inclusive tone and environment in which our policy makers can work together to perfect this union. He changed the way primary and presidential elections managed. So why can't he change the way Washington functions?


BO has bettered the things he has been involved with from a small community up to the way 129,391,711 people voted. I hope Barack keeps his word. I hope Barack will continue to inspire this nation to better places and greater things. I hope Barack sets our nation and as a result our world on a great course for years to come. And I hope I can look back in 40 years and tell my grandchildren that this nation and the world its in is the way it is because Barack Obama was here.


Here's to Barack Obama! We trust you, please don't let us down.