Crossposted from the PeoplesView
This diary is inspired by a comment I read referencing an article from a 2008 article at the Onion:
WASHINGTON—African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America. In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation's broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind.
I always say things happen for a reason. Maybe it is because I believe in optimism and reenforcing the positive.
I am just glad the worst job that was vacated on Jan 20, 2009, was given to a thrilling and inspiring new president -- young, black, handsome, Harvard graduate community organizer, charismatic, inspiring, someone who seeks to unite than divide, a political with intellectual gifts that surpasses any standing politician in Washington, a man who is extraordinarily calm and methodical who deliberates with grace and humility. Yes, all of that and more is Barack Hussein Obama.
When Americans elected Barack Obama to be their President, I often wonder if they knew that they handed the first African American President the Nation's Worst Job. It was a job given to rescue the United States Of America from itself. It was a job to dig America out of recession that was on a free fall.
If anyone thought reversing decades of reckless spending, deregulation, the gutting of social programs, expensive health care system, cowboy foreign policy, losing 700,000 jobs a month, two wars, the worst economic crisis since the depression, America's sunk standing in the world, a country that had been misled into accepting the use of torture of prisoners of war, a failing educational system, a global environmental crisis, an auto industry in shambles, a skyrocketing debt, climate change denial, failure of global institutions, Osama bin Laden, etc., will be easy to resolve, they were completely fooled. These were just the cream of the crop of where the legacy of Barack Obama started. Unfortunately, he did not have a choice on the matter. We choose it for him.
I am glad I choose him for the job though. I am glad America choose him too because as Frank Schaffer ones said:
We Americans are very lucky people. A sane and compassionate president is in charge. Over an 8 year period he will change American history for the better. Only president Obama's dimwitted and/or hate-filled opponents are unlucky: they are betting against a political genius who also happens to be a very good human being.
~Frank Schaffer
As it is, it is tough times and everyone of us have challenges in life. Some of us do have a hard time cleaning up our own affairs be it financially or other personal stuff and I bet the last thing we want to hear is someone pestering and second guessing what we are doing to get ahead every time they see us. The President has many domestic and many international challenges where the balance of power is shifting away from America and towards China, a world of pressing troubles that directly affect America, allies seeking America's superpower protection from rouge States, the growing economic threat of many emerging big powers which all means that the President has to thread carefully keeping an eye on the longer game realizing that we can no longer be the sole superpower but a country that can lead in the evolving transition of the world power while keeping peace and Democracy center stage.
I think a black man can catch a break if Americans are informed of the challenges this President faces. I am glad it is Barack Obama that is tasked with taking out the fire that was in the making for decades and not any Republican President. The religious zealots of the Republican party have their eye sight on making the end of the world prophecy come true and I have no doubt that they would lead us to the end of the world by creating many manufactured wars. President Obama is a truly great president of the 21st century. It is my hope we afford him to catch a break by focusing on the good he has done and is doing and the damage the Republicans are doing.
The man is the real deal and I invite you to watch this clip courtesy of The Obama Diary to show you the man really does care about all Americans.