Obama the First

The pretensions of the man that has ascended to the Presidency cannot be overstated. He began his victory clothed in the colors of black power. Like the ersatz presidential seal he used in his campaign, his latest attempt at shallow symbolism was yet another seal that reads Office of the President Elect. In his first press conference he was surrounded by adoring, fawning white men who are so over the hill it puts the lie to his entire hip and new campaign. Among the things he promised to address as President is the conflict concerning Iran's nuclear program. To be precise he said he would begin a new intense diplomatic effort with Iran. Where has he been? The world, as represented by the UN, as well as individual nations including the United States have been having an intense dialogue with Iran for more than a decade on this very topic. Something the press failed to point out during the entire election season. However, Iran's intransigence on the matter of nuclear might is unambiguous. It has lead to recriminations by many nations including sanctions, but every effort has so far failed to deter Iran’s belligerence. The other thing he promised to address immediately upon taking office in January is the economic crisis. In case he hasn't heard the government has already promised over a billion dollars to deal with the current situation. Actually if you include the $300 billion that the Congress appropriated for troubled mortgages in July of 2008 it’s almost $1.3 billion. He voted for both. Oh, on second thought he missed the July vote. He was too busy running for President. Now that he will take of the oath of office in January he will have to do the work. There will no voting present or not showing up. There will be no blaming the other guy. There will be no excuses. Unlike the Democrats who never accepted George Bush as President, Republicans for the most part will accept Barack Obama and give him a chance to get it right. And while he may continue to escape the scrutiny of the press he will not escape the scrutiny of citizens, both Democratic and Republican.