Hope
 

As you all know I did not vote for Obama (nor did I vote for McCain). I have strong misgivings about his experience and extreme liberal views. That being said, I fully support him as MY President and am hopeful that he will do a good job. What strikes me as a very big positive for him is the overwhelming world wide support he has. I was watching the news last night and they were interviewing citizens around the world, and everywhere the perception was very positive. The only place where people weren't excited was the West Bank. The woman they interviewed there in a coffee shop said they have seen Presidents come and go, both Repub and Demo, and nothing changes. My point is positive attitudes are contagious, as are negative attitudes. Maybe the positive feelings and hope will be enough to kick start something good.
I hope.

I wonder if having advisors cabinet members and othes of differing views, (i.e Robt. Gates and Hillary Clinton )will have a positive or negative effect in the long run. Certainly those two have different views.
I can easily envision friction vying for the president's ear. Administration infighting isn't good. Certainly, from his selections, he seems to have a balanced, centrist focus to where he's headed. (Daschle a notable exception imo. Query: Will Daschle's lobbyist wife suspend her govt. lobbying while he directs health reform?))

Yes he has positive global karma now. But he has to do things, and each decision he makes will have supporters and detractors. Hence, his approval rating has one way to go.

Take for instance, the (as of today) suspended Gitmo trial of the Canadian accused of killing a US soldier in IRAQ. What become of this guy? Send him to Canada. Or what happens to the rest of the detainees. US prisons? Outright release? What?

I didn't vote for him either, but so far I am favorably impressed with him. The inaugural speech yesterday was his best, so far, IMO. Not much of the loftly rhetoric from the campaign.

The world reaction probably has a lot to do with 8 years of Bush.

If we all had skipped GWB and gone straight from Clinton to Obama, I don't think the reaction would have been nearly so positive.

He's still going to have to DO things that make a lot of people happy to keep the approval....and DOING (as opposed to talking) is something he hasn't done much of....

I agree with you. I also sat this one out but I am hopeful (I am starting to dislike the word) that he will be a good leader.

I didn't sit it out, I cast a protest vote for the Peace and Freedom party. That was the same party I cast my first vote for when I was 18:D

I'm hoping that the 4 years will go by quickly.

I'm betting time will pass at approximately the same rate it always has.

It is possible that the current economic situation will prevent some of the more costly schemes that President Obama advocated in his campaign. Of course they can just print more money, but that is really not a solution; just a delay. My puny retirement savings will be quickly inflated to no value.

During the campaign, it was said that he was a fan of Lincoln and his [U]Team of Rivals[U]. If he has the intestinal fortitude to actually encourage thinking apart from his inclinations, he may do well.

If he has 1/10 the political accumen and skill of Mr. Lincoln, he will be OK.
I do like all of Lincoln's actions, but as a politician, he was unparalled in his time, or, probably, since.
If he fails, we all fail.

I'm hoping the idiots that voted for the doofus will soon realize they voted for a guy that's never had a job, and that only delivers hopeful words......which is not an action/strategy plan.

Respectfully, hope and feelings are not strategies.

The hope and feelings of the masses was voting for an empty suit that only delivered empty superlatives in innumerable speeches. -Including yesterday's weak attempt at a memorable inaugural speech.

The "masses" simply do not agree with your assessment of the world, Joe. Learn to deal with it. That would be your advice to me, would it not?

My advice to anyone would be to use your head, instead of your unquantifiable heart and feelings.

This guy offers nothing of substance.....nothing at all. You're in love with the speech giver, not with the substance of the speeches.
Read the text of the inaugural......it's empty, void of substance dude.

Refresh my recollection about Sen. John Sidney McCain, III's employment resume.

I'll do that. In fact, I was most likely going to vote for McCain before he got that train wreck of Palin on board.

You could follow your own advice here. This is your own "unquantifiable heart and feelings."

I think that you just have no clue how Obama got elected. I get the feeling that a lot of the GOP old guard is in the same boat.

I'm not suddenly an Obama cultist by any means. What I'm getting at is that there is a whole lot of support and good feelings around the world that will be a big help in his attempt to get things done. I have no idea if it will mean anything six months from now, but it's better to start out with the world behind you than against you. I'm trying to be positive; I'm naturally a glass- half-full kind of man.