Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Calm, Peace, and Tranquility, People!

Take a deep breath.

Now take another.

And another.

Repeat.

President Obama has been in office a little over a week now. No, he has not single-handedly stopped global warming. He did not walk into Gaza and cause both sides to stop shooting at each other. He has not melted Vladimir Putin's icy heart. He has yet to eradicate poverty, hunger, and disease. The economy remains broken for the time being.

Hence the grousing.

The grumbling, a low, inaudible rumble that permeates the news and the Internet, is brought about by myriad things. Many groups who supported Obama, put their hopes on his Presidency, literally willing him into office, are finding it easy to complain that he has not addressed their issues immediately or with enough dispatch. Others are complaining that he is too eagerly running roughshod over President Bush's policies, without giving them due consideration, in attempt to castigate him in some way as he ambles into retirement. Some are questioning his tactics, sitting down with Republicans, listening to their concerns and trying to get them on board with his economic stimulus package, even though it would pass the House and Senate without them.

Oh, and he angered The Vatican. In his first week!

Our President is a busy man. He has a lot on his plate. The economy, unemployment, and job creation are his highest priorities, for obvious reasons. He has a full slate of agenda items for dealing with a great number of missteps, miscalculations, and just plain bad governance left over from the previous administration. He made a number of campaign promises and he's going to try and live up to them.

In a word: patience. It's been a busy 7 days -- there are quite a few more days ahead. Let the administration go to work, and we'll check back at the 100 day mark to see how he's done. He might just surprise everyone.

1 comment:

  1. But he hasn't yet built that time machine I asked for! Or created a word that rhymes with orange! Or appointed me Secretary of Awesome! I am SO disappointed!

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