Better Get to Sweepin': Obama's Challenges in his First 100 Days

I have noticed a huge disconnect between countless Americans and members of the government when it comes to the issues plaguing Operation: Iraqi Freedom. Some might even argue that the blame for many of the challenges the Iraq situation now poses is a direct result of the actions of the Bush administration over the last eight years.

The Bush administration has also carried out the largest transfer of wealth in American history, but this wealth has not been transfered from the rich to the poor, but rather from the future to the present. This type of transfer of wealth will have devastating consequences for generations to come. Future generations will have no choice but to continue to pay for the monstrous financial burden we see today. Like us, they too will be responsible for paying for the government bailout plans, countless bank bailouts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the general budget deficit as well, not to mention the cost of rebuilding Iraq and whatever lies ahead after troop withdrawal, if that ever even happens.

President elect Obama has a huge job ahead of him. He faces more challenges than most of the Presidents of the 20th century. The actions that President Bush has taken in the past eight years reminds me of the middle of the 19th century, where presidents such as James Buchanan continued to ignore countless problems, like slavery and expansion that were plaguing the nation, before it was too late and Civil War broke out. It eventually took an intelligent, humanitarian leader, Lincoln, to restore the nation, but even he could not fix what countless Presidents had broken by himself. It took decades, and more than a generation of transformation and restoration to recover from the Civil War. President elect Obama has no choice but to act, because the world cannot wait. We cannot continue on the paths of "cowboy economics," where wealthy America waits to see how bad things will get for themselves before they lift a finger. Obama will need to act quickly, making progress in issues of energy, war, education, economics, and human rights. The American people, and the world at large, will have to exhibit patience in the next few years, as Obama will not be able to quickly fix what the Bush administration has so quickly destroyed. As long as we are patient and as long as Obama delivers a good amount of progress, with direct communication to the American people and the world, we will find ourselves on the other side of this mess.

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright appeared on Larry King Live the week before the election and stated that she hopes the President elect will close Guantanamo Bay within his first 100 days in office. She believes it will show the world that a new, more approachable and dependable leader is in charge, who is committed to global peace. America is ready for this kind of an act. The country who reelected George W. Bush in 2004 just saw its first African American president elected by the largest margin of popular vote since the 1968 reelection of Lyndon B. Johnson. The American people are ready for change, and Obama has promised to deliver. The millions of supporters who donated five, ten, or fifty dollars to Obama's campaign will be the same people who keep him in check, and who will remind him of his given promises if needed. Obama will be our leader for the next four years, but the power is truly in the hands of the people, as it always has been, only this time, America has found its voice again.