Two days later...

Now, people who know me realize that I'm not a bullshitter. When I smell bullshit, I tend to sniff it out. Not because I necessarily like to keep it real ALL the time, sometimes I like the smell of poop. (Just kidding, just kidding.)

However, in all seriousness, I am extremely concerned. What am I concerned with? The election of Barack Obama. I was as happy as everyone else was when I saw the news that Barack Obama was the President-elect, by a landslide. The people of the United States seemed to be capable of looking past racial barriers and visible differences and elect the man who seemed to be the best suited for the job as the leader of the Free World. The newly mobilized youth of the nation as well as those that had never before voted in an election heeded the call to establish their heretofore unfelt presence. In addition, seeing those people who in the century prior had marched to gain their civil rights as United States citizens finally see the ultimate fruition of their efforts was stirring, to say the least.

So what's the problem? ALL THE HYPE! Part of my mind argues that George W. Bush has screwed up so badly that anything that the next president does would be better. He has, as Chris Rock so eloquently put it, "fucked up so bad that he made it hard for a WHITE man to be elected president". What if something goes wrong? What if the economy doesn't recover? What if the hype of hope doesn't carry us over the next four years? Things just don't get better overnight. Given this fact, what exactly do the citizens of this great nation expect?

Bill Clinton was a great president, but a lot of people don't know how great. When asked, most people will say that what they remember is a girl, a cigar placed IN that girl, and a stain ON her dress. The other thing brought up is that nothing ever seemed to happen. Bill Clinton was constantly working hard to make sure it stayed that way. Bad times are more common than good times, and President Clinton, a Rhodes Scholar by the way, recognized and dealt with this fact. Despite criticism and scandal, the man did his job well by making sure we as a nation thrived. We may remember him fondly, especially after dealing with an funtionally retarded person as "President" for the last eight years, but don't seem to fully appreciate his accomplishments.

Barack Obama has the huge burden of bearing the weight of his position, as well as the burden of expectation. I worry, but hope for the best.

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." - Rosalynn Carter