Cautiously Optimistic (or Reluctantly Pessimistic)
Things are different now. After 8 years of the Bush/Cheney machine, yesterday ushered in a dramatic change. At least, that’s what I hope.
I feel like I’m the only person in the country who feels this way, but I don’t see President Obama as the second coming. I can understand people’s frustrations over the previous administration. I agree that we desparately needed a change. But at the same time, this blind faith people seem to have in Obama concerns me. He hasn’t done anything yet, but people seem to believe he’s the best thing that’s happened to this country since apple pie.
Because of things he promised during the campaign, people seem to think he’s the man to cure all problems: war, economy, social issues, terrorism. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he won. But I can’t recall another president in my lifetime coming in with such high expectations and, to me, that only means one thing: it’s setting him up for failure.
When people realize that things won’t change over night, that the wars won’t end as soon as they’d hoped, that the economy isn’t back on track within 90 days, I think people will turn on him. They’ll jump to conclusions that he’s not up for the task, and Romney will start his “told you so” campaign for presidency in 2012.
I really do hope President Obama succeeds in implementing all of the changes this country needs. But I’m realistic enough (or pessimistic enough) to accept that he will fail at things. And I can accept that. I mean, come on, he’s becoming president under the worst conditions since FDR! I just hope everybody else can understand that failing at one thing doesn’t mean failure as a whole. I’d rather he fail at trying to keep a promise, than to simply break the promise completely. And I REALLY hope people stop treating him like a panacea. He’s not. Nobody is.
So Mr. President, if you’re reading this, I’ve got your back. I’m rooting for you, I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’m not on the “Obama is the Best” train just yet. I’ll give you some time to prove yourself first.
2 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I don’t think a lot of it is blind faith. This man has been on the national scene since 2004, he fought a very protracted campaign, and I think people have gotten a good picture of who he is — not just policy wise, but also in terms of temperament, intelligence, and character. He has revealed himself to be many things that the previous administration was not — careful, thoughtful, respectful of different opinions, inclusive rather than divisive, and above all, pragmatic rather than dogmatic (a big indicator of this is that he has *never* said that the policies he’s proposing are sure-fire ways to fix things, and that even if they do work it is not going to be overnight — that shows a healthy dose of doubt instead of pigheadedness). I think the leadership he has shown in the short transition period has been rather indicative of this as well. Not to mention the symbolic aspect of who he is personally with his diverse background and upbringing. So, in short, I don’t think he’s the messiah and anyone that does is being overly romantic about this; I do think, however, that if anyone has a chance to fix this mess we’re in, he’s it — and *that’s* reason enough to have high hopes and support for President Obama. (As you might have guessed, I’m a big fan.)
I’d love to comment on this, but I have to run out and get some more of those collectible Obama plates and coins before they’re all gone.