Well, I could have gone on, but decided to limit myself to 3. Thanks, bwak. I know you're right there with me.

Can you add Iraq withdrawal?

Three at a time. Made your points clear. That's a letter worth reading, CVille. I hope it gets through to him.

Couldn't agree more. There's always a thousand reasons not to do stuff. Not to infringe Nike's copyrights but Just Do It!

Rock 'em, Cville.

I'm w/ you on #1 and #2, Jan...still have reservations on #3 (can't even contemplate health care brought to us by the same folks who run the post office - not to mention my extreme disdain for the Congress, but that's a whole 'nuther can of worms...)

I don't know if his presidency will be the turning point for the country that I think it can be, but I'm still very glad he won, and still very hopeful that things WILL change. I have to believe it, because if he can't do it, it can't be done, then I'll have to change my name, and I've gotten kinda attached to it.

An extraordinarily good post! Bravo!

Like others I'd add end the wars right away and quit getting us deeper into it.

But the common theme here is urging the President to do what is right, not what is "politically saavy" or smart. That really is what he campaigned on and sold himself as... the guy who would do the right thing. Thus far, it's a very different picture he's painting.

Be that as it may, your point about single payer is absolutely correct. I wish Obama and the pussilanimous Democrats of DC would wake up and see that today, just as with Social Security in the 30's, if they just do what is right and pass single payer, the Democrats will be in power for generations to come! And it will take that long to fix all the problems Bush and the idiot Republicans created in the last 8 years so we really, really do need it.

Great post!

I’m also a 62 year old woman who worked for two years to get you elected.
I'm glad to be of help.

I believed you would do #1 and #2 after you got elected. I still want to believe you will accept the reckoning and do it. I can only dream about number 3 here in Oregon. Our unemployment rate is over 12% and rising. And jobs are often tied to healthcare so it’s become double suffer for many.

“Oregon's seasonally adjusted jobless rate tied the record set at the peak of the 1980s recession -- the worst since officials began tracking numbers in 1947.” (My entire lifetime).

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/04/oregon_jobless_rate_hits_121_p.html

I want you to see the article so you can take in the faces of people here. Some are very sad, bordering on hopeless but also expressing expectation.

And of course the statistics don’t count the folks who have run out of unemployment compensation or who have given up looking. Or the people who can’t show up anymore because they are sick and can’t get help.

We're just saying please:

1. Make all citizens legally equal.
2. Restore our integrity and law by investigating the war crimes.
3. Institute single-payer healthcare for all of "We the People."

We really need you to come through.
We'll be there! :-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)

A thousand times "me, too" on all points.

But especially #3. I don't even know who our allies are anymore for universal single-payer health care.

You go CVille! You all ready know I'm on board for all this and more. Do the right thing Barack. I am a 56 year old man and I too worked to get you elected. This was the first time in my life I actively campaigned for a presidential candidate. I donated to your campaign not once, but three times. We elected you to lead the country to what is possible, not shepherd us into compromises with the same idiots who brought this country low. Do the right thing.

C'Ville Dem, most excellent and civil arguments! As a side note however, these issues have little meaning as long as they never get the opportunity to see the light of day inside the Oval Office - easily dismissed. Don't ask, don't tell is just starting to be acknowledged - look how long it took for African Americans to be accepted into society after the 1960's. The torture issue reeks of war crimes. It's hard to admit we are just as guilty of the same horrendous crimes that we condemned the NAZI's of in Nuremberg. Finally, the public at large is nothing when compared to the medical-industrial complex (Krugman,10 May 2009,NYTimes) access to Congress and the White House. These issues need a grassroots effort to make the public's interest heard loud and clear - not once every two to four years. Unfortunately, I think we'll all end up with a plate of sausages that won't be to our liking.

Great post. I believe #1 and #3 are inevitable. We may have to work for them but they are inevitable.

About #2, I am hopeful that there will be accountability. As I am beginning to learn how sick and f'd up the history of torture is in our country... I see why we hear the phrase 'looking forward' and the threats of 'if you investigate the Bush adminstration, we'll investigate the Clinton administration i.e. looking for 'torture'.

We need to really learn as much as we can about the history of torture in our country however far back it goes and to the extent reasonable and possible hold ourselves and those responsible accountable. From the time of the Geneva conventions there were movement to criminalize torture. During the Bush adminstration there steps backwards to protect themselves for the use of torture. We have to get all of that sorted out.

And if nothing else I wanted it well marked in our history as we move forward that the U.S. went to war with Iraq resulting in a cost of x dollars x Iraqi lives, x american lives, x other lives, we tortured and abused 'detainees' and committed other atrocities because........

.... I want that blank spot filled in explaining the Bush Admin real reasons and public justifications for taking us to war, the failings of congress that led them to grant the authority for war, the PR campaign that 'sold' the war, and the failings of the american people that led them to enevitably wage it.

Rec'd, cville. I've had similar thoughts, but just never took the time to write them down. Like beetlej above, I appreciate your civility, too.

Excellent letter, Jan. I imagine it's more difficult for those that invested more in Obama to call for a change of course on big issues like this (even though it seems part of what his candidacy was about). There's no reason we should not expect these things from our government. These are not outrageous, radical, immoral or socialist propositions as the right and some in the media would paint them. Good work.

I think if we can get public health care as an option everyone can select into the bill Congress is working on, it would have a chance of passing.

Great post, CVilleDem...

Although my priorities for the President would be a little different (as we all have issues near and dear to our hearts), the key thing I applaud you for is choosing your three priorities related to a realistic agenda and more importantly, a realistic timeframe. What struck me is that you didn't demand a timeframe.

Case in point: over at HuffPo, the multi-talented Harry Shearer (author, actor, singer, songwriter, comedian, etc.) has a post which (I'll assume) HuffPo titled , "Obama to New Orleans: Drop Dead?"

In his post, Shearer goes on to complain that 120 days or so into the Obama administration Obama still hasn't repaired NOLA and kept the "promises" made by the Bush administration. The levees in NOLA haven't been rebuilt, and it's all Obama's fault. And Harry has taken the time to respond to many reader comments.

Now although rebuilding NOLA is as important to Harry as your priorities are to CVilleDem, you've put forth an argument that is thoughtful, civil and reasonable. Where Harry's post and his subsequent comments are, well, a bit on the whiny side, your is not.

Everyone has the things they want done by this new administration, and you've put forth an excellent case regarding your priorities. Very well done!

I agree with each of these three points, particularly torture. As it is currently looking like the interrogators were after information linking Al Qaeda and Iraq, rather than the "doomsday device" scenario, this casts the US in a very poor light and the guilty parties ought to be punished. My only point here is it is the DOJ that is responsible for bringing charges. Let's see what happens.

As for #1, from a pragmatic political perspective, I think this is an issue best addressed in a second term. It caused problems in Clinton's first, and I think other issues, such as the economy, ending the wars, and health care, are higher priorities than ending the don't ask don't tell policy. But only for a while.

Healthcare is the stickiest of the three, in my view. Obama didn't support a single payer system during the campaign, but I think he could be won over. The Senate, on the other hand, is where the challenges are - Ben Nelson in Nebraska, Bayh in Indiana, Lincoln, Pryor, etc. Look at donations to Senate campaigns, and you'll see the big pharmaceutical and health companies well represented on both sides of the aisle. But if you got campaign emails from the Obama team, their operation is now working the ground for health care, so we'll see...

Good take on the damage the Obama administration is doing:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/19/obama/index.html

"What is most damaging about all of this is exactly what Goldsmith celebrated: that Obama's political skills, combined with his status as a Democrat, is strengthening Bush/Cheney terrorism policies and solidifying them further. For the last eight years, roughly half the country -- Republicans, Bush followers -- was trained to cheer for indefinite detention, presidential secrecy, military commissions, warrantless eavesdropping, denial of due process, a blind acceptance of any presidential assertion that these policies are necessary to Keep Us Safe, and the claim that only fringe Far Leftist Purists -- civil liberties extremists -- could possibly object to any of that.

Now, much of the other half of the country, the one that once opposed those policies -- Democrats, Obama supporters -- are now reciting the same lines, adopting the same mentality, because doing so is necessary to justify what Obama is doing. It's hard to dispute the Right's claim that Bush's Terrorism approach is being vindicated by Obama's embrace of its "essential elements." That's what Goldsmith means when he says that Obama is making these policies stronger and more palatable, and it's what media stars mean when they describe Bush/Cheney policies as Centrist: now that it's not just an unpopular Republican President but also a highly charismatic and popular Democratic President advocating and defending these core Bush/Cheney policies, they do become the political consensus of the United States. "

OK, for all interested people, I went back and tightened it up, and even put in a plug for TPM after my signature, and this letter is going out in the morning's mail!

Thanks for all your support and encouragement. Who knows? Maybe he'll read it, but all of you did, and so I'm happy.

Jan

Could not agree more with these points. My thoughts.

1. Jon Stewart and John Oliver argued it best.
The situation is farcical.

2. Yes, but please go further and look at the School of Americas history, Iran/Contra affair.

3. As a Canadian, please believe me this is the smartest move you could possibly make.

4. Haiti! 2004 Canadian planned overthrow of a democracy. What the hell?