HEYYY! How much did the President’s Award appreciate in value overnight?! It stands for EXCELLENCE again. After such an interim, from crook, to dolt, to hapless (portrayed so), to geezer, to wimp, to cad, to chimpanzee. Barack Obama’s landslide was not only a victory for African- Americans, it was a victory for upright man.
Really, could the presidential award have been more strange an honor, this last ugly two terms, when a child’s determination and diligence was praised by association to a certified underachiever, some world leaders would even say, a moron? The irony could not have been lost on our children, who could guess all along that Dubya stood for DUmB-Ass.
Barack Obama’s election win is not only a victory for African-Americans, it’s a victory for intelligence. The American public no longer want to be represented by a president who can neither cobble two words together nor sit for an interview without a ventriloquist. They want a statesman with bigger ideas, who speaks in terms of ideals and community. Isn’t it such a relief to think we no longer have to cringe out of embarrassment for our elected leader’s next misstep? Instead we hold our breath in awe of a capable man who will surprise us with his resourcefulness.
I must reserve judgment on the interests which Barack Obama has demonstrated to be his priorities. They are not mine, but then, I concede that my aims would not meet with approval by the power-makers. Barack Obama is past the DC gatekeepers, he has not alarmed the corporate dogs, and has been met with welcome by the great beast that is Joe the Public.
So long as a grace period doesn’t cost more Afghan lives, or Iraqi or Iranian or Somali etc, now I think we can give Obama the chance to show the bright, principled social activist which the countless who’ve known him have been telling the rest of us that he is. That’s the hope his victory has given us. If Obama’s promise turns out to be false, what have we lost? If transformation could ever come through an electoral process, it would look like this.
I love this post! I remember receiving the Presidential Fitness Award when I was young, and it was an honor. It wasn’t given to everyone, it wasn’t a token of participation, it was a symbol of high achievement.
By virtue of his intelligence, integrity and high ideals — not to mention his respectful and tempered communication style — Barack has instantly restored credibility to the office of the President of the United States. It feels like we’re back at the starting line, ready to run hard, all over again!