President Obama, Now What?

I like Obama. I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but one of the reasons I like him is the big ears. Having oversized ears myself, I guess I just naturally feel a kinship with the man.

In fact, compared to me, Barack's ears are rather insubstantial; it's not so much the size of his ears, as it is the protrusion from the side of the head that draws your attention. But, that's just being nitpicky, the fact of the matter is, the man has suffered for his ears and that alone is reason for a fellow sufferer to find common ground with him. Actually, Obama's success coupled with Daniel Craig being cast as James Bond seems to signal a big ear renaissance unheard of since the days of Clark Gable! Wear ‘em proud my brothers.

Of course, it's not just the ears that drew me to the candidate, sure it started there, but there's only so far a pair of bat wings hanging off the side of your head is going to get you. Unlike a lot of my fellow Americans, I was familiar with Barack before he showed up in Iowa as the Rocky Balboa to Hillary Clinton's Apollo Creed. I'm from Chicago. Well, actually I'm from Indiana right outside Chicago, but for all intents and purposes our media and culture are linked directly to our northeast neighbor. That having been said, we are treated to a bombardment of Illinois politics, even though we can't vote in any of the elections. Although, truth be told, I probably could vote in the Chicago elections. If dead Chicagoans are allowed to vote, it only seems fair that a living breathing Hoosier should be able to cast a ballot, I would just have to remember to wear something other than one of my corn cob and/or tractor t-shirts. The point is, I remember Barack when he ran for the Illinois state senate, and again when he was elected to the US senate, and I liked him from the start.

I don't want to get off into a big political discussion regarding which issues drew me to him over the other candidates, let's just say his take on the issues was closer to my own view. And quite frankly, after eight years of the Bush administration, I was looking for anyone who wasn't the prototypical glad-handing, business-as-usual phony that comes calling every four years. I was and am a believer in the change Obama was and is talking about. So much so, that for the first time in my history, I agreed to put an election sign up in my yard. In the past, I always felt my support of a candidate was my own business, plus I don't need members of opposing political factions tossing beer bottles and pork rind wrappers onto my lawn on their way home from clan meetings at 2am. Somewhere in my self-absorbed mind, I thought it might make a difference to passersby that this white, middle-class, seemingly normal guy supported Obama. And maybe in turn cause them to at least investigate his stance on the issues at hand. So yes, it was ME who won the election for Obama in Indiana, ME and MY sign were the major difference in a hotly contested battleground state. I'm still awaiting my congratulatory invitation to play basketball with the president on one of his Chicago visits, it doesn't have to be any time soon, we've got plenty of time…I can even bring the sign for a photo op.

[extract2v]Even with my unwavering support, I don't approve of canonizing Obama for his current achievements. Where I come from, we don't hand out trophies, until you do something impressive, and Barack hasn't really done anything that impressive. Sure, he won the presidency as an African American, but he did so against an aging, Bush supporting Republican, who selected a running mate who consistently came up with the stupidest answers possible to any and all political questions. Chris Rock would have had a good chance against that GOP dream team. So, let's put the statues, freeway naming and dollar bill image changes on hold for right now and just get down to business. Last time I checked we were all somewhere deep in the hole that George dug with no way out…the only thing we've done so far is decide who we're entrusting to help us climb out. Yes, we've taken a gigantic step forward in electing a black man president; now let's just hope he doesn't mess this thing up…not because he's black or white, but because contrary to some published reports, he's human. George W. Bush isn't the only politician who can make bad decisions, although he might be the only one who could consistently make bad decisions and continue to call them good decisions, but that's a different story.

Obama is a minority, he's also part of the majority, he's Christian, he's Muslim, he's been poor, he's been well off, he is for all intents and purposes a walking talking personification of the United States. He is us and we are him, and for the first time since 9/11, it kind of feels like we're all in this thing together. Or is that just my opinion as a supporter talking, only time will tell. I believe the band Soul Coughing may have said it best, "Move aside and let the man go through, let the man go through", he's got some work to do.