Sense from Seattle

Common sense thoughts on life and current affairs by a Seattle area sexagenarian, drawing on personal experience, years of learning as a counselor to thousands of families and an innate passion for informed knowledge, to uniquely express sensible, thoughtful, honest and independent views.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

President Obama


At the dawn of Inauguration Day, watching TV coverage I got emotional. The peaceful transition of power under the American Constitutional system is almost always inspiring [the Supreme Court election of George W. Bush being a glaring exception]. But this time there was the thrill of seeing an African-American coming into the highest office, overwhelmingly chosen by the American people accepting his message of hope and change for the better, and what this meant especially to Americans of color. And there was the inspired encouragement being expressed by so many people, not just in America but world wide, at the reality of the disgraced George W. Bush leaving town and the chosen Barack Obama taking over.

I watched the swearing in as the invited breakfast guest of my long time friends Joe and Georgia, who are always good company, and were especially fun to be with to witness this enormous step in the racial maturing of America. Joe has long roots in America leading back to some African ancestry, so his family has experienced racial prejudice first hand. Georgia, though an American citizen by birth, was sent to a "relocation camp" during World War II, because her grandparents were born in Japan.

Eight years, or even four, is a long time for a young person to wait to see a new President, and at first look the new person may look out of place. Seeing Ike replace Truman is not much of a memory to me, but seeing Kennedy replace Ike is quite vivid. I liked that the new man was younger, a Democrat and a Catholic. I did not like him being rich, but I liked seeing him as President. When Kennedy was killed and Johnson took over, I did not like seeing Johnson as President. Though he did not come from money and he was a Democrat, he was from the South which turned me off. He did do things for civil rights and poor people, but his escalation of the Vietnam War repulsed me.

I grew up seeing Nixon as Vice-President and that was bad enough. But when he became President, it was almost unbearable. I was overjoyed when he resigned and was willing to see just about anybody take over. Ford was a bumbler and I always just looked on him as a caretaker until the next election. Carter came from nowhere. Another southerner was another turn off. He only seemed Presidential when meeting with foreign heads of state. Reagan always looked like the B grade actor he was and his years in office were as bad as Nixon's. Bush I seemed a weak and aloof President and like he was not sure he wanted the job. Then along came another southern unknown, Clinton, who began to look Presidential just about the time his libido undermined him, leaving him to look a bit pathetic. Bush II, the usurping fraud, at first looked like a deer frozen in headlights, and then like the pompous dork he is, but never anything even remotely Presidential.

Obama is the President who I am most comfortable seeing in the job of any President during my lifetime. The two year campaign about which there was so much complaint, actually gave America the opportunity to see Obama in action through a long process. The man we saw lead that campaign was exceptionally impressive and the obvious choice for us to make to lead America out of our troubles and into a new future. As he said in his Inaugural address, we face big problems and the solutions are not easy, but working together, we can begin to solve them. Polls show the American people are in great support of Obama and willing to give him time to work. If there is to be a fly in the ointment, it will come from Senate Republicans. One early contender is Cornyn from Texas, who is holding up the Clinton confirmation to ask more about donors to the Clinton Library.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good day Tom!
Mom told me yesterday that she & Dad enjoyed having you over for brunch & to watch the inauguration! Nice to watch it on that huge television of Dad's, isn't it? Makes you kinda feel like you are there.
Just thought I would let you know they enjoyed having you over for the historical event. Sorry I couldn't make it, as I was invited, but work calls...
Thanks for posting!

~Rake

6:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom, I mostly agree with your sketchy history of the US presidents. I might have a slightly different take on some of them, but our differences are minor.

I might have liked Ike more than you. I was hurt by the cold shoulder he gave Kennedy at the latter's inaugeration. I thought it was uncharacteristic of the American hero he was and is.

Ford was a bumbler, but he seemed to be just the president we needed at the time. The frantic Nixon presidency with its Nixon - Kissinger quiet conflicts; the opening of China; the Wattergate break-in, the somebody? papers which involved another burglary but of a phychiatrist's office, his constant preaching and shaking his manifest jowels tired out the American people. They were quite ready for a laid backgood hearted true American who amused us with his incompetent golf game.

Like the rest of the nation, I have great hopes for Obama, but we must keep our eyes open and judge him on his actions and on his accomplishments. So far all we know is that he has great charisma and great oratorical skills. He has no experience to assume the job he has won. If we are honest, we would say he is not qualified to assume the presidency. We all wish him the best because we have come to know him through his speeches and his writings. But he is not qualified. He seems to accept that fact, because his inspiration is Lincoln, another unqualified president when elected. Lincoln proved to be a great president despite being unqualified, but he was slow to prove his worth.

I will wait four years before proclaiming that Obama is the president I am most comfortable with during my lifetime. I sincerely hope that I can say that on January 20, 2012.
John from Phoenix

7:57 PM  
Blogger Tom Blake said...

Sorry Reiko that you were unable to join us for breakfast and the big screen show.

John, you and I have discoursed before on the issue of Presidential qualifications. The Constitution sets an absolute minimum - natural born citizen of requisite minimal age. You have your own ideas about qualifications based on specific experiences in particular occupational areas. While I think such qualifications might be helpful, I think the personal qualities of the person are very important, particularly in regard to how those qualities have been put to use by the person. This is where Obama excels in my opinion. He has the ability to lead us where we need to go, working with diverse opinions on how we should get there, while subtly marginalizing those at the ideological extremes.

I am not sure that you told us which President in your lifetime made you most comfortable, other than Ford as comic relief after Nixon.

11:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom,
As I wrote before, we shall see about Obama. This much I know: he will have many failures. I hope as you do that his successes will trump his failures.

As far as which president I was most comfortable with in my lifetime. The first was FDR but I cannot say I was comfortable him. My comfort then came from regular feedings and the soft hands of my mother and sisters.

I do remember some things about Truman. I was comfortable with him because my parents were. But that comfort was challenged by my best friend's parents, who disparaged Truman, as most people of the time did. I would like to identify my friend but I'd better not. He is a well known Seattle leader. But my reading of Truman's biographies justify my parents' opinions.

I liked Ike a lot and still do. He was a true professional. A real leader and statesman. He ended WW II and yet warned the nation about the danger of the military/political alliance. And he was a Republican! A truly great man.

I was caught up in the Kennedy fervor. That period reminds me of the Obama period now. I think Kennedy's aura would have diminished except that he was martyred. I think if he had lived longer we would have seen he was only a pop star. I think we are all watching to see if Obama is another one song wonder.

LBJ is an amazing person. He was an extremely competent politician and political leader. He did great things particularly in the civil rights arena. He had one great failure: Vietnam. I still love that man, but I think he lacked a bed rock morality. He made his career as a practical politician. If he had a stronger moral compass, he might have become one of the best presidents.

Nixon: enough has been said about him. Although he did some good things, I was not comfortable with him as president.

Ford: He was good, but not great.

Carter: A failed presidency. He has done well after leaving the oval office.

Reagan: I have never liked him. But, in his odd way, he became well liked by the US and by the world. I like smart, well educated presidents, but maybe he had something I could not appreciate.

George H W Bush: I am very comfortable with him. I thought he did a good job. I think his fatal move to raise taxes was brave and what this country needed.

Clinton: I am fairly confortable with him. His womanizing is not a problem for me, because none of the woman seemed to mind and Hillary took it in stride, more or less. But it crippled his leadership of the country and I cannot forgive him for that. He did so many good things, but the women are always there.

George W Bush: what a disgrace.

So the bottom line to your question: what president made me most confortable? The candidates are FDR, Ike, Truman, Clinton, Ford, and George HW Bush. FDR is the obvious answer. But I was too young to know anything about him. If I had to pick someone in the last 20 years, it would be Clinton.

Now answer the question yourself, Tom.
John from Phoenix

8:32 PM  

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