I am trying to feel the love for our President. I am trying to maintain the hope he told us we should have in our future. I am trying to believe he will do the right thing for us. But, I get this sick feeling he is going to try to make everyone happy and that is impossible to do. Sometimes one must step on some BIG toes to get the job done right. I HOPE he is ballsy enough to do what he must.
Dear President Obama,
"I can't give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: Try to please everybody all the time."
– Herbert Bayard Swope
I must write to tell you how disappointed I am in your presidency thus far.
You told your progressive base that "The Audacity of Hope" was ours if we believed in you. We could make real progressive change happen in this country if we elected you. We believed you and your magical words.
But, there has been very little change. A few clunkers sold here and there to inspire an auto industry. Bank bailouts to stop the bleeding. But, banks are getting richer and Americans are still losing their homes and their jobs. And, instead of stopping a war we are sending more troops to war. And, health care reform looks like it will benefit insurance companies instead of citizens.
You keep dancing around and won't even make a full fledged commitment to the Public option. You are being too cautious and too amiable. You need to be strong and and make the tough decisions to stick to your promises you made to progressives instead of trying to please everyone. Please realize that those on the right want to stop you...and don't want to see you succeed. Yet, you are helping them out more everyday by looking like a wimp without any convictions.
My disappointment is growing more everyday. So much so that I am starting to turn off the TV when you talk...just like I did when Bush spoke. I am beginning to think I can't really trust you much to do what you promised you would do for us, and what we elected you to do.
You need to:
Stop the war's
End Corporate dominated corruption in DC
Investigate the torturer's and hold them accountable
Hold Bush and Cheney responsible for their sins against Americans
And...give us our health care reform as promised.
You can't please everyone, but you can make life better for the majority of our citizens if you start trying to please your progressive base and do what is right for all of us.
Or else our hope in you will fade fast.