Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Expectations of Americans
My mom and I have been debating for the past few months about the expectations Americans have for their government, and specifically for the president. America has elected a new president who took office just days ago, and I think you will agree that everyone has high expectations for Obama. Do you think he can/will fulfill all the expectations we have placed on him? Do you think those expectations are realistic? What are the expectations you have for Obama?
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I certainly did not vote for Obama because I have fundamental disagreements with him on the proper function of government. As far as I can tell his solution for nearly every challenge America faces is to make government larger, and that quite frankly terrorizes me because I believe most of America's problems throughout its history have been the result of an increase in government power. For that reason I don't have very high expectations for Obama. Having said that, for the country's sake I desperately hope I am wrong. I desperately hope Obama's policies do in fact lift America out of this recession, even if I do not agree with them. I pray for Obama and all our leaders. We should keep in mind, however, that the challenges our country faces are so numerous, so complex, and so wide in scope that to expect Obama to fix them by this time next week, this time next month, or even this time next year is simply not realistic.
ReplyDeleteLike Kyle, I did not vote for Obama because I did not share the same ideas on how the government should be run. The idea of more government scares me, too, and Obama's plans seem to be centered on this idea. However, just because I did not vote for him does not mean that I don't support him now. It doesn't make much sense to me to hope that Obama's plans fail because this failure will only hurt me and those around me. I hope that his plans do succeed, but I, and others, need to keep a level head about our expectations. Obama is still just a man, and he will make mistakes. Also, when dealing with the government, changes will definitely take time. If Obama can make some improvements in the economy and education, he will have met my expectations.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that some people have way too high expectations for this politician. These people have invented words to show how much they worship Obama. Here are a few of my favorites: “Obamanos,” which is “a play on “Vamonos,” or “Let’s go,”; “Obamalicious,” a “complimentary term used by those who like Obama’s looks;” and “Barackstar,” a description from those who believe Obama is “the Mick Jagger of politics.”
I wasn't too psyched about either Presidential candidate this time around. I too hope that he can at least help out the economy, even if he accomplishes nothing else. My going to Vienna is strongly dependent on my mutual fund doing better, which would require the economy getting stronger. It's seems to me that that is the thing every one cares about, so what I don't understand Is why has used what little time in office to overturn that abortion law (I believe that's what I heard happen).
ReplyDeleteOur nation is treating President Obama like a student body president. I truly believe he will do what he can to better our nation and at least begin to help us out of economic bedlam. But it seems like people are thinking of fun ideas like more paid holidays and tax cuts for everyone and things that will benefit us here and now. It's like asking your high school president for more vending machines in the cafeteria and more free time. As Obama stated in his speech, we are all to blame for our current state and as a result, we are all going to have to sacrifice some comforts to dig out of this hole. When I think of the mindset of people, it feels less and less like they have high expectations for Obama and more like they are being selfish, wanting to be instantly gratified and rewarded, when that will in no way fix our troubles. It's going to have to be a group effort to get any of these goals accomplished.
ReplyDeleteIts not so much that I had high hopes for Obama or McCain, but I have high hopes for the office of President. I hope since Obama was elected he will do his best to fulfill his oath and use his skills as an orator to appease both sides of congress in order to promote a true bipartisan effort so we can solve the problems that engulf our country.
ReplyDeleteMany people complain that America has been swept off of its feet by a "celebrity president"--a man whose obvious charm and charisma led him from a local office to the oval office in a matter of years. Frankly, this is probably to some extent a valid assessment of the recent election. But is this necessarily a bad thing? If we look back in history, some of the most highly regarded presidents can be categorized in the "celebrity" genre--from the young, womanizing John F. Kennedy to the movie star Ronald Reagan. The truth is, many of the grievances Americans had against George Bush can be associated with his lack of celebrity charisma: his undeveloped rhetorical abilities, his haughty and self-satisfied aura, and especially the image of America he presents to nations abroad. I believe that a restoration of presidential dignity is an expectation of the American people; an expectation that Barack Obama is spectacularly equipped to fulfill.
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ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that everyone has high expectations for Obama, but just how outrageous are these expectations? In a recent time article (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858897,00.html) President Obama's status in the heart of the public was likened to a Black Messiah. Now unless he can turn water to wine or raise Heath Ledger from the dead, I really can't see him living up to those expectations.
ReplyDeleteI think that the media has placed Obama on an unreachably-high pedestal. He's bound to let American's down. After all, I support the man as he is leading my country, but I feel that he can't live up to the expectations we have put on him because they are unnatainable.
ReplyDeleteAll we got was a new President with insanely good rhetorical skills, not Chuck Norris. And since America is no longer a Democracy(it's a CHUCKtatorship), I feel like Obama is setting America up for dissapointment.
I voted for Obama for quite a few reasons. The main one, though, was that he's a leader that won't make our country look like a fool. I felt incredibly ashamed of the country I live in these past eight years, in fact, I don't ever recall feeling too proud of America. But now, we've got a leader who demands respect world wide. He's the zenith of the American Dream. From a druggy to the leader of the Free World.
ReplyDeleteSay what you want about his politics, but he's a hard worker and has fought hard to be where he is today. I like the idea of having a president who we can look up to as as an acedemic, and hopefully as a person. Maybe we'll have a president who won't cheat on his wife or say that you "misunderestimated him."
Obama isn't black Jesus. That's going to make a lot of people very sad and very angry. However, I think as a whole, Obama will follow through.