Dear Editor,
President-elect Barack Obama takes office Jan. 20, 2009. The public’s level of expectations is high as it should be. Obama has promised to change the way government works.
According to an October New York Times/CBS News poll, only 17 percent of Americans trust the government to do the right thing most or all of the time. Both political parties have failed us.
President Bush has an approval rating of 26 percent, and the Democrat-controlled Congress has an approval rating of 18 percent.
This is the situation that President-elect Obama inherits and which he must address.
Many times as a candidate, Obama said that we are not a nation of blue states or red states, but the United States of America.
He called upon us to summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.
On election night, he invoked Lincoln’s statement in reference to a nation more divided than ours is today, stating that: “We are not enemies, but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
The President-elect portrays himself as someone who will work across the aisle and compromise with Republicans. Will he? Will he need to?
The Democrats picked up 19 seats in the House and are just a few seats away from a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
The Democrats have a great deal of political power. Will they use it equitably and fairly?
Will the new president appoint Republicans to his cabinet — people such as Sen.
Richard Lugar, R-Ind., possibly as Secretary of Defense?
Will the new president introduce a post-partisan era in American politics?
Or will he fall into the partisan trap that Washington all too often becomes?
Clearly, our new president faces enormous challenges. He must unify a divided country while taking over the reins of the executive branch.
He must satisfy his supporters, pacify his opponents and deliver as many of his campaign promises as possible.
He must deal effectively with the many forces arrayed against the United States, and we must realize that those forces are both real and threatening.
I believe Obama is equal to these tasks, but he needs our support.
I am a Democrat. I voted for Obama. I have been a strong critic of the Bush administration and Republican policies of the last eight years.
I saw this election as a chance to steady the ship of state, a chance to help ordinary Americans achieve the American dream, a chance to change the way our government works.
As John F. Kennedy said, “For time and the world do not stand still.
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.”
Sincerely,
Alex Guiden
Music freshman
[email protected]
