I am not an American citizen and I only take an interest in your politics as they pertain to me as your neighbour to the north.
I have been following the president-elect since that amazing speech he gave at the democratic convention in '04, as well as the trials and tribulations which he has faced from not only the pessimistic American people and media, and also the frustration and anger that a number of his most ardent supporters are now throwing his way. In the way that only a Canadian living high up in the Canadian Rockies at this time of the year is able to say to you all....."CHILL PEOPLE"!!
I have never heard such an inane amount of whining over the decisions which a leader may or not be making as what has been taking place at this site since a few days after the American election.
Please hop, skip and jump over the fold with me if you may be as so bold...
About me first if I may; I am a 52 year old Canadian that has followed the American political scene for many years now. My earliest recollection of an impact that your politics had on the world was that fateful day in November of 1963. While I may have only been a young child, I do remember the outpouring of grief and love that the American people felt for their leader at that time.
In president-elect Obama, I sense there was a great deal of faith and trust in the majority of American voters to give this fine young man an opportunity that is only afforded to the best of the best of you. I can remember many of the arguments that he put forth before the citizens of your nation as to why he deserved the consideration of their votes. A movement was born here at DailyKos as well as so many other sites by people that remembered a hope that they had long since forgotten from a leader.
My question to each and every one of you is;
What the Hell has happened to "keeping the faith"?
While there may be disagreements over the choices that your president-elect and his transition team are making these days, why is it that I (as a simple Canadian citizen) am able to understand the enormity of the pressures that he must be feeling on a continual basis regarding any and all decisions which he makes? I sense that a lot of Kossacks here have a hard enough time trying to decide what to have for dinner or what to do with their free time afterwards or even what to wear to work or school that day? Yet a vast number of you seem to think that you have all the answers as to what will or will not work in president-elect Obama's administration!!
As an ardent sports fan I'll try explaining this from my perspective; I sense that your new president-elect is like a coach starting from the ground up with this new challenge, and while some choices may seem to be like having nothing but the remaining varsity players that never made the cut the first time around, there will be rookies that will be joining the team and both shall need to trust the leadership of their coach and captain to provide them guidance along the way. Senior players do get benched during the season because of a rookies performance as you may all know, but in very few instances has a start-up team ever gone on to win a championship for their hometown in their first season on the field or the courts (or even on the ice.....go Jets)!
Let president-elect Obama (and yes, a lot of Canadians also feel the tears well up in their eyes when they speak his name in that way) be that coach that only some of the town supported, learn from any mistakes that he may make along the way, and when the time comes, he will give you ALL that championship season that you so desperately want from him and then you can truly be proud that you supported this potentially great leader of your nation.