The Presidential Schedule for 2009 and Beyond

When I think about Barack Obama, the first thing that comes to mind is the staggering number of actions he and his staff will need to begin as soon as they've gotten their coffee and found the West Wing restrooms. The problem is, everything must be done at once, in both senses of that phrase. There's no time to waste if we're to turn the country around.

Imagine it's next January and Barack Obama is in the first week of his presidency.

Justice:  The criminals must be investigated, accused, tried, and (I hope) convicted. Torture must be punished; treachery must be exposed; treason must be named, publicly despised, and dealt with. In this case, justice delayed is definitely justice denied. A long investigation will leave us infuriated and sputtering. The rest of the country will forget what the fuss was about.

Heat:  It's winter. Heating is astronomically expensive. A certain number of people have frozen to death since Thanksgiving.

Food: People are hungry. The price of food will not be any less than it is today, and unless the food banks have miraculously been filled to overflowing, this is an immediate need. See Heat, above.

The Economy: There are many thousands more unemployed than there are now; IRAs and 401(k)'s are down to pennies, thousands more houses have been foreclosed, the homeless are everywhere. For the working poor, gas prices are preventing them from working, and bus fares have doubled due to the increased demand. See Heat, Food, above.

The Federal Budget: The dollar is worth about a quarter of a Euro. The Chinese haven't forgiven our astronomical debt to them. There's no money in the budget to rescue people from what the neocons have done to them. The corporatocracy is tightening its hold on the Congress; their blackmail tactics are still working. See Justice, Heat, Food, The Economy, above.

The Uninsured: Many more have died due to lack of health insurance, but the country is divided between those who are suffering and those who believe that everyone is being taken care of, somehow. The Kennedy Universal Insurance Act is before Congress, but it needs much more support. The situation will deteriorate further by the time the Obama-Kennedy Health System is up and running.

Oh, I almost forgot . . . there are two wars going on, and our international reputation is in tatters. Something really needs to be done about that.

And we're complaining because Barack Obama is working his way around the campaign platform and not answering our emails?

•  Tips To Cheer Me Up?

  If anybody has any optimism to spare, please drop it in the tip jar.

  by JG in MD on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 10:54:34 AM PDT

  •  I'll offer a tip

    but no optimism.  Between my personal situation, and the problems we are facing (both my family, and as a nation), I really don't have any optimism.

    And on top of that, I am very concerned about Senator Obama's position one of my 2 most important issues - space development.

    by FerrisValyn on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 11:20:09 AM PDT

  •  hope must always die, before it can spring up

    again

    I have the feeling that much like the primairy Obama is a couple steps ahead of us.

    As for those complaining on this site and others, I think even if they foolishly and shortsightedly don't donate it won't matter.

    We wanted a movement, a publicly funded candidate and now we have one; someone who is beholdened to no one group not even us.

    Reminds me of that saying, be careful what you wish for

    by drache on Fri Jul 04, 2008 at 11:34:36 AM PDT