Of course our situation is super grim, and of course Barack Obama cannot save us. I worked on his campaign, and I voted for him, but by no means do I expect him to save the world. If he is ever able to dig us half way out of the ditch that W. put us in over the last eight years, I will commend him. Expectations like this (saving the world) are extremely short-sighted and naive. I do think that right off the bat our situation has improved with his election in that such a victory immediately restored a lot of faith in our country from around the globe and will lead to diplomatic communication with other nations.
No, Obama cannot save the world, but over time he can revitalize our economy and improve our standards of living by reinvesting our tax dollars right here in the U.S.A. in public spaces and services that will benefit Americans. It seems kind of stupid to ask me what he is going to do to pull us out of the shitter when he has been touring the country for the past two years saying it over and over again. If you listen to any one of his speeches, he spells out very clearly what he is going to do.
—Leo Miller, Animosity
Nothing. Bush has fucked up U.S. relations with the UN almost beyond repair. Going into Iraq was perhaps the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. It is good that we have some fresh blood in the White House, however. Even better that he’s a Democrat. Maybe it’s not too late to fix our relationship with the rest of the world. Time will tell.
As far as what he should do differently, I would say do gravitate toward the Left. There needs to be a time where both Republicans and Democrats can look at a picture of a house and say that it is such, so to speak. He needs to not worry about his constituents and go from his heart. I expect nothing of him. He is a politician, and a shyster by trade.
—Matt McChesney, The Autumn Offering
I think that first and foremost he needs to be realistic with the economy and realize that big business and the government need to have more separation between one another. If major corporations are cooking the books or not being responsible in their ventures they need to suffer the consequences when it all comes falling down. The government needs to step back in the long run and let businesses be responsible and not bail them out.
If you stabilize the economy, and everyone is able to live their lives without fear of financial meltdown then that eliminates the problems with recession, inflation and corrupt big business. With these problems at bay we can focus on energy problems and alternative energy solutions, which in turn will get us out of the Middle East, and get us out of the oil addiction.
It took GWB eight years to get us in this mess, it quite possibly could take Obama eight years to get us back on our feet.
—Nick Ghanbarian, Bayside
