Inauguration Day

I want to capture my thoughts on the day in which a new president is inaugerated. The world has changed dramatically since George Walker Bush took office eight years ago and, despite plenty of commentary otherwise, some of it has been for the better.

I do not hide the fact that I did not support Barack Obama in his presidential bid, as inconsequential as my support would have been. That isn’t to say that John McCain would have been a better president — he had his own problems — but at least McCain had plenty of experience and a clear vision on foreign policy, especially on trade policy and the War on Terror, the two areas that concern me most.

Be that as it may, Obama got the big win after an almost perfect campaign. It is his victory to savour.

It is a well-known axiom that a week is a long time in politics, and once you start measuring time in years instead of days, events and attitudes become ancient history. With this in mind, the meme of the Obamerica changed in the eon of a few weeks, from rejoiceful adulation to one of hesitant optimism, with the assumption that the electorate has a short memory, which is does. Even on election day, the excuses began bandying about, beginning with the media and followed by knee-jerk supporters, that Obama just might not be evidence of the Second Coming. Not yet, anyways. You see, they say, Obama inherited two wars, an economic crisis, global warming, a divided nation, and a sick puppy (probably). I’m told he (“He”?) might need two terms to solve all these crises.

Leave aside the fact that George W Bush also inherited the events on September 11 and the spectre of an increasingly confident Saddam Hussein from his predecessors, yet he never used that as an excuse to shirk his responsibilities.

Obama wasn’t forced into office. Personal compulsion is not the same thing as indentured servitude. He asked for the job, the people gave it to him, and he does not deserve pre-emptive excuses before he even takes the oath.

This applies doubly-so for a man who did everything in his power to project an image of other-worldiness — remember the Greek columns at the DNC, the unilateral declaration of lower sea levels, the be-everything-to-everyone without promising anything specific? The reason he has impossibly-high expectations is because he carefully crafted those expectations himself. He’ll get no pity from me.

If he isn’t up for the job, old Dubya would be more than happy to take it off his hands. I’m sure that going back to organizing communities will give Obama all the opportunites to avoid responsibility that he needs.

Speaking of which … As president, unlike anything Obama has done before, he will actually have to make decisions. Those that derided Sarah Palin on her mere governorship of a minor state, in addition to her mayoralty of a minor town in said minor state, conveniently forget that as chief executive of both governments, Palin had to make choices. These choices had real outcomes, they affected real people. Sometimes (most times?) people supported those decisions, while on other times, other people were disappointed. That’s what leaders do; they decide and are not given the choice to vote “present”.

Unfortunately, Obama has not given much of an indication of what he’ll actually accomplish, outside of curing lepers and changing water into wine, of course. Therefore, given the self-imposed expectations, he will likely disappoint many of his supporters. To which I say, I hope so. Too many of his supporters have too many stupid and destructive ideas. If he rejects these ideas outright and adapts a pragmatic streak, all the better. If not, however, then God (the real God, that is) help us.

However, any criticism of the Obama administration will be done in the light of the recent past. I, for one, will not forget the attitudes of Obama or his followers during the Bush presidency. The utter disrespect toward the office and the institutions of the nation in general were shameful and embarrassing. While I’ll be the first person to criticize any government at any moment, and will defend the right to do so in others, I also believe in fair, rational criticism. I especially loathe hypocricy, and especially in myself, and the hypocritical attitudes of Bush-haters/Hope-and-changers is beyond parody.

If it wasn’t for that second virtrue, then I could easily fall into the trap of the past eight years. I could refer to Obama as a fascist (as opposed to the extreme socialist that he is — or has been up until now), and I could refer to him as “Baboon Insane OMcHitlerama” or something so clever and witty that Bill Maher himself might have coined it. I could spend my days making fun of his cadence (which to be honest is starting to grate on my nerves), or his physical appearance, or his relationship with his parents, or whatever inconsequential detail might pop up from time to time.

But I’m not going to do that. Not because of the disingenuous calls for “unity” by our self-anointed elites in the media and (ahem!) Hollywood. These people have set a clear example as to how not to behave when you do not support The Man.

No. I simply pledge to remember the sullying, distasteful effects of Bush Derangement Syndrome every time Obama makes a decision that I cannot personally support. I pledge to keep my criticisms objective and avoid the ad hominem attacks. I pledge to not be a condescending jerk when I argue policy on blogs or through other internet media. I pledge that I will not rudely assume someone else agrees with my politics and offer my unsolicited commentary if and when the president becomes unpopular. I pledge I won’t call for Obama’s assassination or burn his figure in effigy. I pledge that I won’t compare America to Nazi Germany, ever.

Most importantly, I pledge to support my friends and neighbours in the only nation that actually attempts to spread liberty and democracy in the world with action, not just with talk through committee, and that this support will not ebb and flow with whoever sits in the Oval Office.

It is with this pledge that I will act with decency and honesty while I participate in this great thing known as responsible government. I may not always be right but at least I’ll be true to myself, and I’ll be able to look back at my behavior during the next four years with honour and respect.

God bless our ally, the United States, and God bless the new president.

Palin in 2012!