This week was quite an interesting and historic time in our country’s history.  As you all know already, we have a newly elected President Barack Obama.  He is the first black President the United States that has ever been elected, and it is a very important milestone in our country’s history.  It makes me feel proud that our country has come so far since the segregation and discrimination we suffered in our country’s past.

This election has been historic, but it also has pointed out to me that we still have quite a way to go. I am so disappointed at the way certain people have a hard time evaluating and making their own opinions based on the facts, and their interpretation of the facts.

My first example of what I mean is our current President, George W. Bush.  I have never seen so many people have so much outright hatred towards a President in my life.  They seem to blame everything that has gone wrong on this one man.  Now he certainly has made some major mistakes in his administration.  We could discuss his mishandling of the war in Iraq, or his massive spending that has put our country in a very bad position.  Add to that the Wall Street mess, the housing bubble bursting and the overall condition of the economy.  All this has happened on his watch, and although not all of it is totally his fault, most people blame all this on him and his administration.  I agree that he has mishandled many things, but people fail to acknowledge things that he actually has done right.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to stick up for him, or his mistakes.  I simply want to point out how some people have a hard time looking at his performance objectively.  This may be simply because they hate him so much, or because they are Democratic, or maybe because they watch a certain television channel, or read a certain newspaper and have been fed this information in a certain way based on the opinions of the media.  It is common knowledge that the media has had a strong dislike of President Bush, and the news stories we hear or read reflect that opinion.

Like I mentioned President Bush has done some good things, and even the people who dislike him, or disagree with him should be able to acknowledge that.  He has kept our country safe from another terrorist attack since 9/11, and the Iraq war surge has proven to be effective in reducing violence and destruction in that country. Whether you agree with the reason why we went to war is irreverent at this point, since we are there now and we need to deal with that, and ensure we can keep our troops safe.  It is in our country’s best interest to make sure we finish the job, and support a democratic government that will help promote peace in the future.  You will not watch or read a news story pointing that fact out to you, because they all despise President Bush, and take ever opportunity to make him look like an idiot.

This brings me to my next point.  Our next newly elected President, Barack Obama.  I will be honest with you and tell you that I did not vote for Mr. Obama.  My reasons were because he is relatively unknown, with little experience, and with a very socialistic view on things that I simply don’t agree with.

Now that the people of the United States have voted him President I need to stand behind him and support him.  I know I disagree with him on many issues, but I have to put that aside and support him because my country is more important than my political party or my opinion.

I truly hope that he is very successful in his term, and can get this economy on track.  He has quite a difficult road ahead of him, and in order to be successful he will need everyone’s support.  I support his because I am an American, and I want my county to succeed.  Despite my disagreements with him, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and an opportunity to be successful.

I have already heard many people who are unwilling to give him such a chance, and this is what makes me sad.  You should not be so blind about things that you cannot keep an open mind and hope for our new President to be successful.  This is what is important.  I just wish more people had that same attitude towards President Bush, or any President for that matter.

That doesn’t mean I cannot discuss or bring up when our President has done something wrong.  It is inevitable that every President will make some mistakes, and hopefully they will learn from them.  I will be the first to compliment Barack Obama when he does something right, and I also can point out when he does something wrong.  But in either case I will respect him as our elected leader, and I hope one day that the rest of the population can treat all of our Presidents with the same respect.