Travellinguist's Musings

What Obama Won't Do....

We have heard high hopes for President-Elect Obama along with the irrational fears of McCain and Bush supporters who were roused to a frenzy by a dishonest and dishonorably campaign. Obama is not a socialist, or if he is then socialism has surely become quite conservative over the years. However, between the hysterical fears of racists, Christianists, and those who haven't taken any courses on political economy and those optimistic people who believe Obama can remake the world anew I offer what I hope is a sobering yet nonetheless optimistic assessment of the Obama presidency.
So with that in mind I will share a list of things which Obama WON'T do, but in NOT doing them will be well on his way to a successful presidency.

Barack Obama will NOT secretly order the kidnapping and torture of people who might maybe know something about people who might maybe think about maybe hurting American soldiers deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Barack Obama will NOT disregard the marchers in the street when they demand he NOT go to war.
Barack Obama will NOT start wars for the photo opportunities it will provide for his re-election campaign.
Barack Obama will NOT violate the contracts of US soldiers who thought they were defending America, but were actually just defending Union Carbide, ExxonMobil and other "energy" companies, by redeploying them indefinitely until their nerves, marriages, health and lives are destroyed.
Barack Obama will NOT disregard the rulings of the Supreme Court, and the legislation of Congress to violate the Constitutional rights of US citizens, by listening to their phone calls and reading their mail.
Barack Obama will NOT devote most of his executive efforts to crafting 'signing statements' by which he would announce his intention to disregard his Constitutional obligations by failing to enforce or abide by legislation passed by Congress and signed on his own desk.
Barack Obama will NOT fill his government with cronies picked more for their loyalty than their confidence.
Barack Obama will NOT commend someone for doing a "heckuva job" while bloated corpses float around the streets of New Orleans and New Orleaneans rot in the Superdome.
Barack Obama will NOT fund raise in Arizona while New Orleans drowns.
Barack Obama will NOT clear brush while California burns.
Barack Obama will NOT play golf after just announcing he'd given it up to "support the troops."
Barack Obama will NOT blame the CIA when he ignores the intelligence information they diligently provided to him.
Barack Obama will NOT act out his adolescent father resentments by subsuming all of his policy decisions under an umbrella goal of doing "more" than daddy did. (Iraq, Re-election, Tax Cuts no matter how disastrous to long term economic health, etc.)
Barack Obama will NOT disregard the needs of America's youth for a sound future (We won't let him)
Barack Obama will NOT ignore the opinions of our friends and allies througout the world who often see and understand things in more profound ways than we can or he can.
Barack Obama will NOT draw stupid lines in the sand between "new Europe" and "old Europe" based upon who toadies to us most effectively.
Barack Obama's VP will NOT shoot his friend while hunting.
Barack Obama's VP will NOT stay hidden in an undisclosed location- even though with the way Biden runs his mouth Obama might prefer him to stay there.
Barack Obama will NOT HIDE his press conferences from the public by scheduling them at 10AM on weekdays when no one is watching.
Barack Obama will NOT bury bad news and bad policy on Friday afternoon so it won't make the "news cycle."
Barack Obama will NOT spend 2-3 months of every year on 'vacation' at his 'ranch' while the nation's problems compound.

If Barack Obama fails to enact an ambitious agenda, many might consider it a failure or a wasted opportunity, but we must remember that by NOT doing many things which his predecessor did he will leave this country a better and stronger place. The failures of president Bush were not always the sins of neglect, but often the sins of appalling actions. Obama has to simply NOT do many things and we will have a better, stronger country. So please let us not expect Obama to achieve everything we want, though we can expect him to try. However we can demand that he NOT repeat the appallingly un-American actions of President Bush and his administration and by doing so get this country on a more humane and honest track.

Labels: Obama WON'T future goals

posted by travellinguist @ 3:39 PM