I am glad to see short-sightedness leave Washington. We can disagree on Bush's record on terrorism. There are plenty of anecotes about his administration's dismissal of the terrorist threat. There have not been any more foreign terrorist attacks on US soil since Sep 11. But we had Anthrax, we had the DC overpass sniper. Americans have been targeted worldwide, Iraq has become a terrorist breeding ground. In the longer term, Bush has stacked the playing field against US anti-terror efforts.
How can being so aggressive terrorism backfire? Simply. Terrorism grows when people have no hope. By destroying the foundation of Maslow's hierarchy, people in Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to lose. So more of them turn to terror. You can not defeat terrorism with violence. Violence begets violence, and "We'lll all be blind and toothless" according to Tevye.
So I am very excited to see a longer thinking President, who genuinely wants to understand the world around him. This is a man who wants to hear opposing viewpoints, who is still battling his lawyers about having access to his personal email while President. This is a President who cares about me. We'll never meet, but he's been through much of what I've been through, and he knows and cares about people like me.
Obama has been a poor college student, he has been uncertain where his future would lie, he has had to pay back student loans. He has lived in a small apartment while raising children. This is not a First Family who enter the White House out of touch. These are people who buy milk at the store (remember that Bush 41 moment?), who find bargains on the clothes rack, who drive normal cars.
Welcome, Barack. We pray for you and those who will work with you. We're in a terrible mess. May God help you.
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