Shaking their hand is not going to do it. They will laugh in our face the moment afterwards with a response. What will destroy the American people is a multi terrorist attack on American soil under Obama’s watch. He needs to step up to the plate now to let them know he will not tolerate it. Will he do that?

Libra Lady, is that a heart filled with balloons? As Kramer on Seinfeld said, “I’m out there and lovin’ it!” On a very sad note, I have to contribute that “war is war” and every single president who engages in war, unfortunately, has civilian casualties. Strengtheniing the terrorists? In the next two months….prepare for it if you can. America has to do something to eradicate the terrorists once and for all.

Gosh, Libra Lady, as an interior designer, I wish I had been the lead decorator on this one!!! Four pairs of curtains @ $28,091.00? That’s my kind of invoice!!

I love dogs. And, yes, there are a few cats I like, too. I’ve always had poodles, miniatures and a standard. At the moment, I am without one of these marvelous little critters. Your pooch looks like he/she has a sweet personality and the good life!

All presidents exercise their veto power only when they know they have the super majority backing behind them. The democrats were not helpless in Bush policies rather they supported his profligate spending. Bush can be faulted for many things but to say that the democrats did their best to oppose him to no avail is inaccurate. Bush, with his compassionate conservatism offered much for the democrats to agree with. To say that they faithfully opposed him now is an attempt to falsely rewrite history.

Obama ran a smart campaign based on the internet. Much of his funding came from small donations pledged over the internet, but much also came from unknown sources via credit cards, possibly from foreign donors, which would make them illegal. Sarah Palin, by resume, was just as qualified to be Vice President as Obama was to be President. Voting because of race is just as questionable as voting because of gender. And please don’t tell me that an Ivy League education is superior to another, because that is elitist, and anathema to democratic ideals. One should assume in America that there is equal opportunity to excel in education as well as profession.

Robert, this inauguration was very special because it proved that in America anyone can rise to the top. Yes, it was exorbitant but we can be forgiven for excessive celebration. Now, however, we must look to the future with no excuses. We must be united as Americans to face the future. If it made millions of Americans proud of their country for the first time then it was worth it. That was yesterday. Faith in America cannot be based on momentary or conditional thing. Today, however, we look beyond this extravagant inauguration to face serious challenges that make the inauguration costs pale in comparison.

I love your doggie!!! What a cutie!

caj p, I really would like to respond to your post in a nonconfrontational way. Just a few thoughts based on your post. I don’t agree that the right wing republicans have raised the myth that Obama is the messiah. I believe the messiah label came from the media on both sides enhanced by african americans who see him as the “answer” to racism. How I personally wish that were true at the same time one has to be a realist. I have to remind myself that racism still exists in Europe and other countries long after socialism was instituted. What I know for a fact is that the United States is the least racist country in the world. Not all democrats, but many democrats have put unbelieveable pressure on our new president to “change our country.” He won’t be able to do that. It is humanly impossible. And, that is where I believe some republicans came up with “let him wave his magic wand” which equates to, the democrats hope that he will fix everything that is wrong in our country. Gosh, I wish he could. I wish George Bush had been able to make better progress to that same goal. But, it didn’t happen. History proves that Americans are resilient through depressions, recessions, civil rights movements, assassinations, and terrorist attacks, etc. Americans need a hero and right now all eyes are on Obama. It literally sets him up to fail. It is difficult for me to respond to Bush and his vetos. All presidents have been faced with the same issues. President Obama will also exercise his power to veto. In fact, the record will show that Bush vetoed very little. You aren’t the only one who wants President Obama to do well. You have anxious republicans wanting it every bit as much as you. When a president responds to a “Rush Limbaugh” the way our new president responded, it raises serious concerns. Specifically, it challenges our freedom of speech. That has never been done before. I enjoyed your post because it is honest and heartfelt. I hope you will post more of your concerns. The more we understand each other’s concerns, the better we will be able to face the challenges of the future.

Susan, I agree with you wholeheartedly that there is nothing easy about being President….period. That is why I am so uncomfortable with Bush haters and bashers. It wasn’t easy for George Bush either. Unfortunately the stimulus package the democrats are pushing goes against the beliefs of the republicans. Wouldn’t surprise me if all republicans voted against it just to go on record. Of course, the package will obviously go through. We all want it to work but the naysayers have valid reasons for opposing it. We shall all see soon if, in fact, it will jump start the economy. We have to be hopeful. To address your second paragraph, you are speaking the truth. Most democrats state that Obama will go down as the best president in history. They have nothing to base that on but pure “emotion” as he has had no experience either as a mayor or a governor. He could very easily go down in history as the biggest disappointment in history. People who aren’t “realists” call him the Messiah and if they aren’t calling him that they are promoting him as such. These people need a hero. Obama is their hero. The concern of republicans is that he is now demonstrating socialist tendencies and it is a concern. His comment about Rush was revealing. Another problem we have is that Bush “grew” big government, unfortunately, and now Obama wants to grow it even more. John MCain would have reduced it. So, we are, in a sense, spiralling out of control. The resilience of the American people to survive this is where I find comfort. I love reading posts like yours, Susan, because you aren’t afraid of voicing your own opinions unlike others who bang away using someone else’s opinions as their own. Hope you’ll continue to post.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to “Eddie Haskell.”

“he needs to save it to use after Blago has his opportunity to express the “truth.”

If there IS a MAGIC WAND for Obama to wave it needs to save it to use after Blago has his opportunity to express the “truth.”

Robert, I could not agree with you more. There are some who post who think the Gitmo prisoners of war should have equal rights. Of course we may have a few innocent people being held who shouldn’t be there. Unfortunately, we have innocent people all over the world in prisoners being wrongly accused. It’s not just in Gitmo. It will be interesting to see how this is handled.

Actually, Robert and Libra Lady, some of their responses are more like “temper tantrums.” Being able to present the republican side of real issues is freedom of speech. Not all of us think the same way. There are wonderful posters on this site who are democrats and I enjoy reading their opinions. However, there are others who don’t know how to express themselves except through name calling, bad language and empty words. They throw out words like “HYPOCRITE” in all caps and “IDIOT” and my favorite “RACIST” because we don’t agree with the way they think. I knew this country was in big trouble when I was called a ‘racist” on another blog because I was a republican. I learn something new everyday from well spoken democrats and republicans.