To Preface, I voted for Obama and I think he has the potential to be a very good if not great president. I understand the social, historical and racial significance of the election of Barack Obama. That being said, people really got to calm down.
I am hearing and reading that people are naming their children after him. There is a Caribbean island that plans to name a mountain after him. This is going a *bit* too far. I am excited about an Obama presidency and change in the way this government does things and the priorities for what gets done. But, people, he is not the 2nd coming. Before we start chiseling his face into Mt Rushmore, maybe we should inaugurate him.
Maybe we should let this guy be president for a little while and see what he actually does before we declare him the best president ever. The ideas that he put forth in the campaign are very good ideas but there is no magic wand. we are not going to wake up the day after inauguration and the DOW up 5000, the economic crisis over, the troops home and the Iranian president having tea parties in the White House. Our country is in a serious, serious situation and electing Barack Obama, as wonderful as it is for race relations and hope and change, he has to get stuff done before we can start celebrating. And we as the electorate have to make him do it.
Instead of exalting him as the answer to all our prayers, why don't we get on his case and the case of all our elected officials to actually do something. and then when they do do something, we can get on their case to do some more. and if they continue to do things right, we may just re-elect them.
Rant Over.
-Ben
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
What kind of President I think Barack Obama will be....and what he should do to get there
**To Ben's Credit: This blog was actually typed up the end of last week but I did not get to posting it. As you may have noticed, Obama seems to have already done some of this, including setting up www.change.gov **
We are in a critical moment as a nation. The next moves Obama makes are going to be important. People are open and ready to engage this president. He has the people's attention and excitement. They want to be a part of things and Obama needs to take this time to keep that momentum going. He needs to stay in the spotlight. Continue to talk to the people and encourage them to continue getting involved by contacting their legislators and other public figures in their home town.
What Can Barack Obama do to keep it going?
He has to start by being public. He has to not disappear until inauguration day. He has to continue to engage the electorate. That is how he won the election. He kept people engaged and that can be very useful in governing also. The transition is not just about putting the right people in place in the government you have a moment right now that is so powerful, that the whole country is awake and paying attention and ready to pounce on whatever he needs them to do and he just needs to say:
this is the next step: Make a list of all your Representatives in govt and send them a letter or an e-mail that says this is what you want out of your elected official.A few weeks later he could ask: What you think about health care or how to fix the schools? what should happen in Iraq and NAFTA and giving money to the auto companies?
That is the gift this campaign promised and he has to lead us in that.
He has to be publicly visible at every step from this point on. not only tell us what you want to do but tell us how we can help you do it. Tell us how we can help. who is holding up supreme court appoints me in congress or who is fighting for which part of the argument and.
Obama needs to make it very easy for us to get in touch with our elected officials. It needs to be an accurate site where you put your address and zip and it tells you and you can easily click a link and send a message to some or all of your elected officials. It needs to be very easy for people to get involved. The easier the flow of communication the more powerful the constituents can be to the president and how we can stay involved.
And that is the moment we are at. This moment where people are so energized by the country and the ideals of the country and how they can get involved in the system. He has to step and lead. its more than just ideas. its how you take this grassroots movement that you built throughout the campaign and use it to govern.
He needs to take the next step and say this the first step. we need to write congressman or start a blog, whatever it is. Things people can do in their every day lives. Not march on Washington-people work. Things they can do in 5-10 min or on a weekend that wont disrupt their lives but they can still be/feel part of something and move things forward to bring people to together.
he needs to come out and tell people what the next step is within the next few days or the enthusiasm will die.
We are in a critical moment as a nation. The next moves Obama makes are going to be important. People are open and ready to engage this president. He has the people's attention and excitement. They want to be a part of things and Obama needs to take this time to keep that momentum going. He needs to stay in the spotlight. Continue to talk to the people and encourage them to continue getting involved by contacting their legislators and other public figures in their home town.
What Can Barack Obama do to keep it going?
He has to start by being public. He has to not disappear until inauguration day. He has to continue to engage the electorate. That is how he won the election. He kept people engaged and that can be very useful in governing also. The transition is not just about putting the right people in place in the government you have a moment right now that is so powerful, that the whole country is awake and paying attention and ready to pounce on whatever he needs them to do and he just needs to say:
this is the next step: Make a list of all your Representatives in govt and send them a letter or an e-mail that says this is what you want out of your elected official.A few weeks later he could ask: What you think about health care or how to fix the schools? what should happen in Iraq and NAFTA and giving money to the auto companies?
That is the gift this campaign promised and he has to lead us in that.
He has to be publicly visible at every step from this point on. not only tell us what you want to do but tell us how we can help you do it. Tell us how we can help. who is holding up supreme court appoints me in congress or who is fighting for which part of the argument and.
Obama needs to make it very easy for us to get in touch with our elected officials. It needs to be an accurate site where you put your address and zip and it tells you and you can easily click a link and send a message to some or all of your elected officials. It needs to be very easy for people to get involved. The easier the flow of communication the more powerful the constituents can be to the president and how we can stay involved.
And that is the moment we are at. This moment where people are so energized by the country and the ideals of the country and how they can get involved in the system. He has to step and lead. its more than just ideas. its how you take this grassroots movement that you built throughout the campaign and use it to govern.
He needs to take the next step and say this the first step. we need to write congressman or start a blog, whatever it is. Things people can do in their every day lives. Not march on Washington-people work. Things they can do in 5-10 min or on a weekend that wont disrupt their lives but they can still be/feel part of something and move things forward to bring people to together.
he needs to come out and tell people what the next step is within the next few days or the enthusiasm will die.
Welcome to Our Blog
This blog is going to be a place where both Ben and Colleen can write in one location to share thoughts, feelings, and anything else we feel like with the world!
Frick and Frack are our frogs and who knows...maybe they will weigh in sometime too! LOL
We are a 30 something married couple living in central Jersey. Both with lots of opinions, but often on different topics. It should be a very random mix of posts here as we get going!
Frick and Frack are our frogs and who knows...maybe they will weigh in sometime too! LOL
We are a 30 something married couple living in central Jersey. Both with lots of opinions, but often on different topics. It should be a very random mix of posts here as we get going!
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