Before someone brings up Nixon as being the worst, Nixon was highly effective in office, corrupt, but effective.

what nixion just got elected in mo

waht you talking bout (in best gary coleman from dif strokes voice)

in actuality any patriot would respect the office and what it stands for

any patriot would show respect to their fellow citizens till given reason not to

and any wise patriot would respect their enemy cause under estimation is a killer

this post makes me question the patriotism you claim to have

because with out respect a patriot becomes a dictator once they receive power history shows this time and time again

the united states was very fortunate at its conception to have the men (and women) in place at that time

so i am sorry but unless you show some changes maybe you should change you i d

LMAO...how about we show the same respect you all gave BUSH? OBAMA now has the same headaches BUSH inherited from sicko willie clinton? Let's see if the DEMS can step up to the plate. Since these leapards don't change their spots they are next to go.

No one wants to go the way of third world banana republics....or cuba...or having someone like that freak Chevez in our govt.

Nuff said!

I'm gushing but I'm not naive. Obama inherited a mess.

who are you talking to

and it is never """""nuff said""""" because somebody types it

how arrogant is that??????? note a question marks just asking

I can't help but notice the almost immediate tamping down of expectations a mere day after Senator Obama won the election. For YEARS now we've been hearing about the mess Bush created and now it appears that we're going to get to hear about it for the next four years.

But I'll also enjoy this a little as Republicans were basically told to shut the hell up when they tried to hold Clinton responsible for poor intelligence networking pre-9-11.

President Elect Obama knew full-well what he was getting in to. He campaigned on "hope" and a promise to change Washington. But now I'm getting this strange feeling that there was, all along an unspoken addendum that reads: "Wow, I promised hope and change and I'm the guy but really, this last eight years is worse than I thought so hang tight everyone, it may be a bumpy road."

I don't disagree that the last eight years have been tough. Furthermore, I recognize that there is a lot of hatred here and elsewhere for President Bush. He (GWB) got my vote the first time but not the second. I have not been drinking the Kool-Aid but I also know that every President inherits the former administration. That Barack Obama campaigned on reform and change, that his confidence was both real and palpable is something I think we need to remember.

But if the next four years is all about how things aren't getting done because of GWB's actions then perhaps the wrong man was elected. I say that not out of disrespect but because President Elect Obama has the Executive and both houses of Congress and a badly beaten and unfocused Republican party. He should be able to govern without much opposition. He campaigned on that "hope" and a lot of people are looking to him for that type of leadership.

Finally, though I did not vote for him, I respect him as my President. He will be my President and I accept that he won. I will be around to blog and write about his administration but I try not to take most of the personally. It's politics and there is enough hate and rancor for a lifetime already printed on Blogs and articles, many of which are still very much in circulation.

I wish him well and I will, and I will support my nation and my President, even when I disagree with him. That much is my responsibility and in fact, my honor. But I'll have little tolerance for excuses. There might be no tougher job than that of the Chief Executive but that is why he ran and the change he promised was why he was elected.

-Drew

Drew,

Yes, Obama campaigned for change. It will not happen overnight. It might take more than the next 4 yrs. But..I am happy that we are going in the right direction. See...I don't put him on a pedestal. He is only human. I am a realist.

You mean he's not gonna walk on water to get to work every morning?

I didn't vote for him (or McCain) but I'm satisfied with Obama as President. I don't think he is a devil who is gonna make America a communist nation and I don't think he is gonna wave a magic wand and cure all our problems

He's just a guy who's gonna do the best job he can. He looks to me like he's gonna be a fairly centrist Democrat.

For the last 50 years or so the Republicans and the Democrats have been taking turns at running the government and neither has gotten much done. Now it's the Democrats turn again

You mean that "Circus Elephant" as Jack Kennedy called him. He was to paranoid to be effective

http://www.zefrank.com/from52to48withlove/

Who says he can't walk on water?

I do! I love cubanos, mojitos and bananas

The puppet might have change but the ones who pulls the strings are still there so I don't think it will make a big difference in the long run. Obama might have a will to change things but will the rest of the administration in the US want to have change.

I think people should keep an eye on Obama during his rule... We need skepticism in order to obtain information for the next election. Pay close attention to the policies he supports, and their outcomes... Also, pay close attention to congress and your local government on the issues they support.

I will admit, Obama started off on a bad foot with me. His charisma sent me into defense, since he sounded so good, while have absolutely no substance.

But one thing i can see, he supports the patriot act, as he voted to reinstate it.

He was also in favor of the Economic Stabalization Act.

These are two things we, as responsible citizens, should be following...

Take note on this "job creation" policy of his as well. It's not enstated yet, but it will hopefully bring up some "good" to mix with the "bad".

Maybe he even had an impact on troop withdrawl from Iraq... But we should wait and see if he sends them elsewhere before we get excited...

Like i said ealier, i had no idea Clinton had us in so many wars at the time. That was until i looked it up myself. I can give examples if anyone is interested.

You guys were smarter than me when it came to seeing through Bush. It took me a while to realize how corrupted he was. Lets show respect, while showing the same skepticism of President Obama.

I think it unwise to sit back and wait for good things to happen just yet...

With the economy in a real mess it is hard to keep half the promises that Obama promised .

Now to respond to the OP....

As a non American....I can speak for me... and give a summation on the people I associate with, and the Australian media...


Optimism and altruism are some of the basic traits of aussies in general...

We would like to think that somewhere in the recent history of the US, the country folk, (americans) learnt something, hard and fast.

That the wheel IS broken, and it needs more than fixing, it needs total reinvention... and you can't do it alone.

That is the general consensus of my peers, my family, myself, and friends... I think the utterance of nearly all when told Barack Obama was the new president was something like ..." Thank F*ck for that!"

Obama has what it takes!! However, no matter what he does, he still has to overcome eight years of terrible policies and decisions by George W. Bush. I think it will take a lot longer to repair the world's opinion of America. At least now we have a President who cares what the world thinks!