Congratulations to Barak Obama
and the incoming Obama administration
Valley Patriot Editorial
November, 2008
Though many Americans did not vote for Obama and indeed some of us have expressed serious reservations about this competence and the direction he will take this country, now is not the time for such division. Now is the time to stand behind our newly elected president and show the rest of the world that we are a country united against all threats foreign and domestic.
In the coming months and years, the Obama administration will face monumental challenges. We should, indeed we must, give Barak Obama a fresh chance to show us what he can do for our country and what direction he wants to take us.
Since we know almost nothing about how he will govern, his real philosophy on education, criminal justice, foreign policy or domestic affairs we have a duty as Americans to wait and see how he will react to the issues facing our nation and the results of such reactions.
As the duly elected next president of the United States, Barak Obama deserves the benefit of doubt as history has shown us that most presidents govern quite differently than the way they promise to govern while on the campaign trail.
A new day has dawned in America and a new direction has been plotted by the voters of this country. Only time will tell how successful a president Obama will be and whether or not his ideas will strengthen our country or weaken it.
We hope and pray that a president Obama will keep our nation safe and that the result of his presidency will make all of our lives better, whether or not we agree with the way he goes about it. And it would be neglectful on our part not to mention the historic nature of electing the first black man ever to serve as our nations commander in chief.
Our country has come so far in such a short amount of time since the days of slavery or even the racially divisive period of the sixties and civil rights movement. How many times during this election season did we hear from political pundents, conservative radio hosts and the media that this country was not ready for a black president.
Well, the voters proved them all wrong. Americans went to the polls in record numbers, not to vote for a black president, but to vote for a president that inspired and motivated them. That man, Barak Obama, just happened to be black and most voters were able to look beyond race by choosing a man based on his ideas and what they perceived to be the content of his character.
During this country’s economic crisis, Obama provided American’s with hope, promise and faith that Senator McCain just could not deliver.
Republicans who voted for McCain should also be proud of their candidate. With George Bush’s approval rating so low, and the republican party being blamed in the media for every problem in the country, McCain had an incredible uphill battle just trying to distance himself from the present administration. He gave a gracious concession speech where he expressed pride in the historical significance of electing a black man as president.
We are still fighting the war on terror as we have American troops fighting for our freedoms in Iraq and Afganistan. Americans now need to come together and rally behind the new president-elect and be one United States of America.
For today we are ALL Americans!
All pictures and material are (C) copyright, Valley Patriot, Inc., 2008