The American President

Tomorrow Barack Obama will be sworn in as our new president. I voted for him. I would have preferred Hillary but I would have voted democrat no matter what or not vote at all. To be honest, back when the democratic primary was decided, I felt like I'd be voting AGAINST McCain and not FOR Obama. As time went on I became more comfortable with a vote FOR Obama.

I'm feel hopeful about the new presidency. This country needs a change and I don't think there's any way a republican president could pull it off. I was born after the Kennedy administration so this is the first time I'm seeing youth in the White House. I also think it's wonderful that whatever bigotries some of our citizens have demonstrated in the past have subsided enough to be able to elect a black president. 50 years ago, a black person couldn't sit in the front of a bus or restaurant in many parts of the country. When my parents drove from New York to Florida in 1962 for their honeymoon, they saw the "colored" water fountains and restrooms.

One thing that does bother me is that the news coverage, at least what I'm seeing, is portraying Obama as the Black President instead of simply as the President. I don't think Obama is creating the image himself, it's all the press. Watching the Today Show this morning, there was an interview of 2 people from the DC police/security forces. At the end of the interview, Meredith felt the need to ask the man, who happens to be black, what his personal feelings were about a black man becoming president. She didn't ask the white woman that question. I don't think the question should have been asked at all.

Hopefully after tomorrow we can get past this and just get down to the business of helping the US economy recover and start moving forward again. We have issues to deal with that affect citizens of every race and creed.