In an interview early in 2000 in which the reporter stated they felt like they were talking directly to the President, Cheney declared that the Bush Administration was going to be run like a business and w was the CEO.  I think the President of Vice was the CEO, but history will not record that.  At any rate, Obama has made much the same claim.  He will be the chief executive.  So why do things feel so much different?  Why is there so much hope?  What is the outlook?

The outlook is excellent.  I feel there are two ways to lead your horses, crack the whip and win a sprint, but your horses resent you and will not run without it, or teach the horses to love to run and they will run all day and all night, even until they drop.  This appears to be what Obama is doing.

It appears Obama is going to have loose reins on his Administration in the sense that the people he has chosen for various positions will have a lot of authority and responsibility.  The various departments will really be characterized more by the people chosen for the positions then by Obama.  However, he will take ultimate responsibility in their affairs as well as be the ultimate authority, unless an action demands the Supreme Court be involved.  Obama will know what is happening in each department, but he is not one to micromanage tasks into paralysis.  If this first full day is any precursor of things to come, he will be months ahead of everyone else with a plan.  Obama knows where he wants to go and he knows who will get him there.  Within reason, how they get there is less important to him. 

I like where we are going. 

It is a cheerful statement heard time and again recently that Obama is Lincoln reincarnate.  I read recently that Lincoln's number #1 priority was to preserve the Union.  To keep the country as big as it was and not lose any of the states.  Slavery was a second thought, a necessary evil/good, if you will.  So I am not sure that if Lincoln could come back that he would be the President we have created in our national mythology.  That being said, he DID free the slaves and now, after decades more struggle related to racism, we have an African-American President.

But I will embrace the possibility Obama is Lincoln.  There are good reasons to believe this is so, particularly if we give credence to our national mythology.  This is a passage from Lincoln as he closed his second inaugural address:

<b>With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.</b>

Watching the inauguration yesterday, it struck me that this is the charge Obama has set for himself, to show no malice, to be charitable to everyone.  He was a gracious victor today and his wife Michelle also displayed a generous heart, giving Laura a pen and journal to record the next phase of her life after Washignton, DC, and giving w a farewell kiss.  [I would have given him both of my shoes, one at a time!]

Watching the Obama's going through the circuit of balls this evening, I was struck at the energy and determination he displayed to assure the soldiers and their families at the military ball that he will provide for them, both in the field and when they return.  He made a resounding commitment to them last night. 

Finally Obama's speech mentioned his vision of peace for the world and his determination to change the way we approach other nations, especially Muslim nations, "offering them our hand, if they will unclench their fists".  Throughout his campaign, if one will oblige me and agree it really started at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.  One might say it began before he himself even knew it began.  Obama has emphasized we have neither red states, or blue states.  We are the United States.  This was the first bandage for our national wounds after the recent attempt by Republicans to achieve a lasting majority.  

Therefore and in conclusion, after thoroughly reviewing all the information related to President Lincoln and the recently anointed Barack Obama, it is possible Barack Obama is Lincoln reincarnate.  Fortunately for us, Lincoln is picking up where he left off, so we need not fight the civil war again. 

It is a cheerful statement heard time and again recently that Obama is Lincoln reincarnate.  I read recently that Lincoln's number #1 priority was to preserve the Union.  To keep the country as big as it was and not lose any of the states.  Slavery was a second thought, a necessary evil/good, if you will.  So I am not sure ithat f Lincoln could come back that he would be the President we have created in our national mythology.  That being said, he DID free the slaves and now, after decades more struggle related to racism, we have an African-American President.

But I will embrace the possibility Obama is Lincoln.  There are good reasons to believe this is so, particularly if we give credence to our national mythology.  This is a passage from Lincoln as he closed his second inaugural address:

<b>With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.</b>

Watching the inauguration today, it struck me that this is the charge Obama has set for himself, to show no malice, to be charitable to everyone.  He was a gracious victor today and his wife Michelle also displayed a generous heart, giving Laura a pen and journal to record the next phase of her life after Washignton, DC, and giving w a farewell kiss.  [I would have given him both of my shoes, one at a time!]

Watching the Obama's going through the circuit of balls this evening, I was struck at the energy and determination he had to assure the soldiers and their families at the military ball that he will provide for them in the field and when they return.  He made a resounding commitment to them tonight. 

Finally Obama's speech mentioned his vision of peace for the world and his determination to change the way we approach other nations, especially Muslim nations, "offering them our hand, if they will unclench their fists".  Throughout his campaign, if one will oblige me and agree it really started at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.  One might say it began before he himself even knew it began.  Obama has emphasized we have neither red states, or blue states.  We are the United States.  This was the first bandage for our national wounds after the recent attempt by Republicans to achieve a lasting majority.  

Therefore and in conclusion, after thoroughly reviewing all the information related to President Lincoln and the recently anointed Barack Obama, it is possible Barack Obama is Lincoln reincarnate.  Fortunately for us, Lincoln is picking up where he left off, so we need not fight the civil war again. 

This post is not about what I have to say.  It is a place to quatify what injuries we have endured as the result of w and, because we are "rolling up our sleeves and getting to work" [BHO] what we should do about them.

Maybe I can't resist commenting, or maybe I'm just setting an example here, but we should follow this pattern, take only one issue per post and see how far we go.  I say one issue per post only to make counting easier.  Feel free to post again if you have another issue, and let's try not to repeat what others have said.  I think reading one offense will lead to others.

9/11, being attacked by terrorists on four airliners resulting in thousands dead and the destruction of the Twin Towers in NYC as well as significant damage to the Pentagon.

Response:  Win the hearts and minds of the world, which we so carelessly mismanaged after 9/11, to identify the desperate self-destructive expressions of a few people who have lost their minds.  These people commit heinous acts on behalf of a cause that they represent poorly.   There has never been any serious progress made by these people for those causes and it has never served to recruit people peripheral to their cause.  It merely casts a shadow of disgust on that cause serving as a repellent.  Humanity is repulsed by their deeds, not empathetic and it is only in empathy that relationships grow.  Terror does nothing to advance a cause.  We need to explain this to the world, thjose who share the cause of these terrorists, for that cause may not be intrinsically evil and find a way to coexist peacefully,  I believe we can deflate the heroism/martyrdom they proclaim.  It is patently false. 

If Obama has a signature move in his politics it is his disarming nature.  Always calm and cool, he carries himself with dignity.  This is not a forced dignity or a false sense of greatness.  It is the self-confidence that he brings to every occassion regardless of whom he goes to see.  He will stand before them as if they had always been friends. 

When the punditry and his competitors scoffed at Obama for offering to meet the Iranian leadership without preconditions, he responded without any fear.  Everyone questioned the wisdom of this suggestion.  But today that proposal seems more appealing then not.

Obama has shown himself able to meet his foes and willing to show them respect without agreeing with them.  The first example we have of this is the meeting he had with Hillary Clinton after his victory in the primary was confirmed.  He met her on neutral ground and he met her alone.  There was little information given to the public.  It was a private conversation.  But clearly they reached an agreement that had something in it for both parties.

After Obama sealed the deal as President, he met with John McCain.  Again, very little information was shared with the public besides the usual formalities of their having had a conversation and finding each other to be nice enough.  Obama recently met with the pundits of the Right and, again, for good measure, honors McCain and former SoS Colin Powell with dinners prior to his inauguration.  There is a consistency here in how he interacts with the opposition.  It bodes well for the United States.

In the case of Clinton, while we may never know what was said, we do know that Hillary did a fantastic job working to get Obama elected.  As for McCain, he has not made much of a fuss with the workings in the Senate to this date.  One might even describe the recent Congressional Republican voices as softened.   Is this merely due to their recent losses in the polls, or have they met the enemy and given hostility a second thought, given dialogue a chance?

Obama will take the oath of office and I look forward to watching his performance.  We have a leader who will meet his people, their Congress and the world up close rather then these cowardly bullies who have hidden in undisclosed locations and admonished the people to "go about their business".  I look forward to what will result from Obama's recent meetings with John McCain and Colin Powell.  I think that Obama will do some great things, but as time marches onward, our surprise will diminish and we will adopt his calm courage to face our foes, to find a way to work together and to make this country really great again.  Because when one is truly great, there is no need for a banner to declare "Mission Accomplished".  It goes without saying.