Thursday, April 30, 2009
A SPECTERacular Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary, Mr. President.
No it’s not Barack and Michelle’s wedding anniversary…
It’s the 100 day anniversary of Barack Obama being sworn in as President of the United States!!
(Well, yesterday was.)
Times are tough…with the economy and the swine flu both making people uneasy and sick, but all and all I think our young president has done a stellar job.
He has passed some major initiatives, begun to rebuild our credibility with the rest of the world, and has gotten to work on a range of tough and pressing issues that we have put off for far too long and cannot ignore any longer.
Many attack him for being “too liberal” and “spending too much” or “having too many things on his plate” but I say gimme a break!
What this country needs now more than ever is ambition and the courage to make the tough choices to get the right things done and help us out of this rut that we seem to have been stuck in for so long…and by so long I mean about the last 8 years when Bozo the Clown was sworn in as president in 2001.
I believe President Obama is doing a fantastic job. There is no one else I’d rather have as president in these tough and perilous times than the smart, honest, decent, and relatable man that is working hard for us day in and day out.
I’m not sure if you heard but I’m pretty excited…President Obama got an early anniversary gift yesterday…
The one year anniversary is traditionally paper (how cheap is that!!??).
5 years is wood (…seriously?).
25 years is silver (that’s more like it!).
Well, apparently the 100 day anniversary is Specter…as in Arlen Specter.
President Obama was given the gift of a 59th (soon to be 60th) Democratic Senator to help pass his modern agenda and help to move America in a new and necessary direction when veteran Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter switched from the Republican to Democratic Party.
In his announcement he said that the Republican Party has “left him.” Truer words have never been spoken, and as a Democrat, I welcome Senator Specter and any other level-headed Republicans in to our party so that we can truly be a party for all people and not just a narrow and narrow-minded minority.
This by no means ensures that passage of the president’s legislation will be a cake walk, but once Norm Coleman finally realizes he lost in Minnesota and Al Franken is seated as number 60, there’s a real chance that President Obama and the Democrats will get things done without Republicans being able to filibuster every bill due to their increasingly right-wing and extremely narrow ideology.
It’s been an interesting and eventful first 100 days.
Congratulations on all you’ve done, Mr. President.
I can’t wait to see where you lead us in the next 100 days and beyond.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
*Tweet Tweet*
Just a quick message to let anyone who still reads this to know that I now have Twitter!
I know, I know...how pop culture of me. But seriously, it’s pretty interesting how it connects people and how it has become such a sensation.
I currently follow Sen. John McCain, Sen. Claire McCaskill, and George Stephanopolous of ABC News. Some “tweets” are more interesting than others, but I think if you’re not already a member then you should definitely join and check it out.
And more importantly, if you are a member...start following me!!
You can find me by searching for my name (Dan Riviello) or my twitter ID (drivi86).
Start following and tweeting because the conversation has already started…
P.S. Kudos to Pres. Obama for firing the CEO of GM. Some are criticizing him for it but come on, at least as far as symbolism goes it shows the American people that the Pres. is serious about fixing the automakers and trying to make them more responsible for their actions.
P.P.S. While visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stopped to study a painting of the Virgin Mary. The painting is believed to be an apparition placed there by God. After studying the painting for a while she asked “who painted it?” To this inquiry a Mexican official responded, “God!”
Hahaha. Man, I love Hillary. We expect these sort of responses from VP Biden or former Pres. Bush...but it’s so unexpected for the ever-professional Hillary Clinton...making it all the more cute when it occurs.
Will post more soon but if you wanna keep tabs on me join twitter and tweet it up with me. Send me ideas for new blog posts and let me know about what you want to know/think about what’s going on in the political world.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Go Big or Go Home
Sorry I haven’t written in a while folks. Being an adult gets busy sometimes. My job/company is getting a lot more exciting but also a lot more intense so I actually have to concentrate on work in my free time and haven’t had time to comment on what’s going on in Washington.
Still, being busy is no excuse, and a lot has happened since I last wrote.
President Obama is now well past the halfway point in his first 100 days in office…and he’s done some pretty good stuff. He ordered Guantanamo Bay closed within the year, signed expanded health insurance coverage for children in to law, relaxed federal laws that blocked funding for stem cell research, got his stimulus package passed…and has generally improved America’s image throughout the world as Secretary Clinton has visited numerous countries and opened a dialogue with the international community not seen in years.
But I have to ask…isn’t Obama the guy who’s supposed to be fixing the economy? Isn’t he the savior that is going to put people back to work, save the stock market from crashing, keep people in their homes, etc.?
Of course he’s not, but we sure wish he was. Things are still bad and are going to stay that way for a while. But I feel like they could and would be a whole lot worse if President Bush were still in office or if John McCain were president. Obama is trying. He’s done everything but throw the kitchen sink at the economy so far, and I think we need to just be a little patient and hold out a little hope…and things will get better.
No doubt the president is taking on a lot of issues right now. But good for him…and better for us. For too long we have sat back and ignored problems while they just got bigger, scarier, and more expensive. Kudos to President Obama for having the kahones to tackle the big problems we face so quickly and eagerly.
Our economy is in trouble, we are fighting two wars, the polar ice caps are melting, almost 50 million Americans are without health insurance…and Republicans (and some Democrats) have started to complain that President Obama is trying to do too much, too quickly? That’s rubbish. What do they want him to do? Act like Congress and President Bush and just sit back, ignore these problems, and wait for them to get bigger and more impossible to solve?
I don’t think so. And apparently neither does President Obama. It seems to me like our Commander in Chief is of the mindset that it’s either “go big or go home.”
I like your style, Mr. President. Good luck.
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