First Year Reflections

One year. Yes, I voted for Barack Obama. Why? I don't really have an answer. Both sides of my family are Republican. The United States Armed Forces historically votes Republican, at least during my period of service. So, why would I decide to change parties, after 7 presendential elections? I can think of only two reasons, and I'm not sure which fits better, or if it is a combination of both: The Republicans presented no viable, acceptable alternative candidate, or if I was swept up in the sea of 'change, transparency, and' hope' that Obama preached. I reflected over the last 365 days, and things have become clearer, sort of.

I switched to independent before the election, so I had a choice. That's what an election is all about, right? Well, six hours after I marked my ballot, I could not believe that, for only the second time in 30 years, I had marked the Democrat side on anything (the first being Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California, for all the assistance she provided me with The Vetreans Affairs Department).  Then the results came sweeping in, and I thought I was onto something.

Three months later, the Democrats had my head spinning. Billions, if not trillions of taxpayer dollars went to irresponsible businesses and their leaders. General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, anyone on Wall Street who needed a handout. Maybe these bailouts were needed, I don't know. Nobody ever explained it to me so I could make sense of it. I'm not even sure which bailout made me more angry. I think I was more able to reconcile the Big Three auto companies, as they are a huge part of our economy. But rewarding Wall Street for dubious business practices, and then having to read about board members getting huge bonuses? Give me a job on Wall Street and I'll screw it up big time, then retire. Now, I know this bailout initiated with the Bush Administration, but Obama was left holding the bag.

Six months later, health-care reform was being shoved down my throat. Don't get me wrong, we need it. But the packages being bandied about seemed to miss the whole cause of rising health care costs. Insurance carrriers and their insane policy requirements and costs. Why was there no one standing up to them? I just couldn't get it right in my head. It felt as if the schoolyard little boy was being punished for getting his rear kicked around by the bully. Everyday! I watched this circus play out for a long time, and it's still playing in our lives.

Nine months later, and healthcare has taken over every headline, TV newscast, and blog site that you see, watch or hear about. It was all the talk, with no answers. President Obama wanted health care reform on his desk for signing by 2010. So, it became time to just cram reform into approximately 2,000 pages and send it to him. I simply cannot believe that every Senator and Representative on Capitol Hill read the entire bill, much less understood it, except where it concerned them, not the entire country. Just pick one Senator and ask them about a portion of the bill that does not concern their home state, and they will probably have the same look I have every time I open the paper. President Obama semed overwhelmed to be able to stop the 24 hour, back-door deals that were taking place. Not only did Capitol Hill go behind the back of the Amereican public, but of their own President as well.

Twelve months later, maybe it's catching up. Massachusetts, of all places, voted Republican. Masssachusetts! Republican! The brave people of that state may have set off a country-wide swarm of new Republican fervor. I'm not sure if that's good, either. The GOP is no less responsible for our country's ills than the Democrats. In the wake of the historic election of Republican Scott Brown as the junior Senator from Massachusetts, the will of the country is strenghting. My main  gripe (of many) regarding health-care reform was that the politicians on Capitol Hill were not listening to the polls. America doesn't want reform as it is currently being  presented. The politicians want only to back President Obana's goal, not listen to the electorate to whom they answer. Pathetic.

18 months later after I decided that Obama was my man, my emotions and concerns have become like a rollercoaster, one in which you cannot get off. Health care reform. What to do with the GITMO detainees (no easy answer there). Rising unemployment ( no easy answer there, either). But the President has made some solid decisions. Getting out of Iraq, where that war was simply a matter of George W. Bush avenging his daddy's incomplete operation. An infusion of troops to Afghanistan, where the war on terrorism should have been focused in the first place. 

So, my evaluation of President Obama's first year? He was inexperienced for the job,which most newly-elected presidents are. I think the Democrats stuck their necks out with his selection to lead their party. But Obama has proved one thing to me, and it is very important. He knows how to learn on the job. He was a rookie. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nv), the Senate Majority Leader, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca), House Speaker, were pulling the strings, playing de facto president. Those are two of the most very wrong people to run this country. To his credit, Obama has seemed to shed them off his shoulders, little by little, and is becoming his own president, following his agenda for the American people. That really is all you can ask of a president. Lead the poeple, provide safety and security, and if there are any issue, deal with them swiftly and accordingly. It was not President Obama's fault that one Islamic extremist was screened through to Detroit despite numerous warning signs, short of him wearing a sign stating "I am a Terrorist". Now, maybe Homeland Security may have caught that. But Obama was quick to accept responsibility. That I respect. He is our leader, like it or not. I'm liking it more and more every day. Remember, none of us has a job description quite like that of The President of the United States. I think he is catching on quite well.