One week ago today, the torch was passed to Barack Obama who will be sworn in as the 44th President on January 20.
The new President will face a host of old and ongoing problems that will need to be addressed --- some, very early on. And, of course, new problems are bound to surface like always, so it is important that President-elect Obama surround himself with experienced people who can make a difference for our country.
It is especially important that the President carry through on his campaign promises to the people; likewise, it is important for the people to realize that those promises can not be implemented in a short period of time.
The President-elect and the Democratic controlled Congress should make it clear they intend to balance the federal budget and put our fiscal house in order which can be accomplished with a sound, broad-based economic plan to create a sustained economy with job creation. Such a plan would lift the middle class and return to them what has been absent during the last 8 years.
The transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy has to be stopped, and the average worker should share more in the profits they help create; no CEO should be compensated 400 times more than his average worker. The present economic meltdown should serve as a lesson and example of corporate greed that does nothing to create jobs.
I would hope President-elect Obama with his advisers and the military can find a way to refocus in Afghanistan and eventually withdraw our troops from there while at the same time protecting our country from terrorist acts. We also must end the Iraq war; the people of Iraq are capable of protecting their own security, and, when all is said and done, Iraq and Iran will be close allies contrary to what the neocons have been saying. Bottom line: occupying soil in the middle east will not unite the various factions.
When Obama takes office in January it will close the books on a administration that governed by fear and ideology. Unfortunately, serious problems created by Bush will still be there for Obama to encounter, but I am convinced he will meet the challenges and truly change direction for our nation.
