The First Fifty Days

Well, today marks the fiftieth day since Barack Obama took office. He took office in the middle of a dire economic crisis, a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, a society that had been beaten down and had rights stripped away while its intellect was relegated to whatever culture is to be found on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. The media, liberals, the world was filled with hope and joy, sure that the inauguration of Obama meant an end to all the ills of the world.

Fifty days later, here we are with the Dow the lowest its been in years, unemployment out of control, and Rush Limbaugh's ascendency to power in the GOP. Way to fail, Barry! I guess we can write this presidency off right here and now.

SIGH!

When has anything major been accomplishable in fifty days? President Obama entered office with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The expectations we set for this man were utterly unrealistic and ridiculous. When he works to find his footing and even struggles to come up with solutions, we scream and howl and label him weak or ineffectual or a failure. Yes, the first fifty days have had their trials. The administration made some choices that were problematic -- people who had issues with paying taxes -- and has faced some mighty steep uphill climbs -- an entrenched and stubborn GOP in Congress. Fifty days later, we are still faced with the same problems (if not worse) that plagued us on January 20, but this economic crisis needs more than a quick fix. The wars abroad can't be ended overnight. There's still a whole culture of ignorance that has fought hard to lay claim to our society that a single, articulate man can't overcome instantly. The guy needs time, and we need to give him that time. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor were our current problems created in such a short time. Fifty days is a drop in the bucket, and we need to have the patience and perserverence to let those solutions arrive.