Although I have been a strong advocate and supporter of Barack Obama, there were always a few doubts that kept lurking in the back of my mind: what if he was all talk and no action? Was I too caught up in the rhetoric to ignore possible weaknesses? Was I so blinded by my loathing of the Bush Administration and the Rethuglican Party that I welcomed ANY change - an even unproven one?
After the inauguration I couldn't shake a feeling that there was too much glitz, grandstanding and pandering by the media of the new White House executive and his staff: the immediate declaration of the closing of Guantanamo Bay, the vow to stop torture, the signing of the equal pay for women act - the press ate them up and clamored for more, MORE!
Doubts began to surface: rumors began to leak that the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' may not be implemented until after two years DESPITE the promise to repeal this horrific measure on record by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Then came the news that two candidates for cabinet positions were dropping from the appointment process because of back tax issues - amongst other things. And the stimulus package was NOT as eagerly embraced by both parties of Congress as we thought they would - was it a wrong move after all?
Did we - as they say in Jamaica - "swap black dog for monkey"? Was this movement of CHANGE too ideological after all - much like 'Dubya' and his doomed 'freedom and democracy in the Middle East' notions? Was he a re-incarnation of Michael Manley - a charming, handsome leader with great vision but implementation issues?
Maybe having too many doctorates and MBAs in the administration COULD BE redundant....
Then, yesterday evening, I saw what I had been waiting for - Obama confidently wearing the role of president of the United States.
In an interview with Brian Williams on last night's NBC network evening news Barack Obama addressed the issues of his beleaguered cabinet nominees and answered a question we have all been thinking - weren't these candidates properly vetted before being selected?
President Obama stated: "I'm here on television saying I screwed up and that's part of the era of responsibility; is not never making mistakes; it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that's what we intend to do."
He told CNN's Anderson Cooper, "Look, ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics. And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for powerful people, and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes."
He didn't pass the blame of the confirmation process on a junior staff member or a member of his administration.
He didn't act in a cowboy manner with an unwavering mantra of "you're either with me or against me".
He acknowledged an error in judgment and took responsibility (something the last administration saw as a weakness and refused to do, instead relying on hiding from the truth under the guise of patriotism and ideology).
THIS is what I had liked about Candidate Obama - he made mistakes, learned from them and used the experience of mistakes to make better decisions. Remember New Hampshire? He took the experience from that primary loss and used it to strengthen his presidential campaign.
FINALLY it seems we have someone who seems to really want to do what's best for the country - and NOT what's best for the party of their allegiance.
NOW I can say: WELCOME, President Obama.
