Grant Park
Betsy and I were there. We were bowled over by the meaning of the event, much more than we thought we would be. We are quite confident Barack will be a great President, since he has just run the single best Presidential campaign in the history of our country.
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"We are quite confident Barack will be a great President, since he has just run the single best Presidential campaign in the history of our country."
For sure Obama has shown he has the potential to be a great president by the fact that he ran a spectacular campaign. It is still important to note that Obama's campaign was under his full control, whereas the government he will head has three branches and is under the control of various influences, including the influence of the American people should they choose to participate in their own government much more than they have done in the past.
In order for Obama to fulfill his potential to be a great president, he will need Americans to help him by staying engaged and holding each member of Congress accountable if they fail to implement the changes Obama has been talking about.
With Obama as president and Democrats in Congress having taken so many seats, it is doubtful that Americans will accept any more excuses for continued ineffective governance by Democrats. Soon we will know whether the Democrats sitting in Congress right now have been sincere about what they want to do. We will also see whether they are competent enough to get it done.
Until then, you have made a big assumption that has yet to be proven.
November 6, 2008 7:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
i.e.: No president can fulfill his highest potential without our help and the help of a good and willing Congress.
November 6, 2008 7:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's impossible to underestimate the way the Obama campaign was orchestrated. If the organizational skill the campaign implies is able to be translated into governing then things may actully get done and actually work.
Republicans are going to try and impede that. It is definitely a contradiction but if they don't they will become completely insignificant. Consider the disaster of the Bush administration with successful eight year bookends of the Clinton and Obama administrations. The contrast won't be lost on voters.
November 7, 2008 3:40 AM | Reply | Permalink