Thoughts on the new presidency from the girl with a migraine

I don't have a lot of recollections about being punished as a kid. The one memory I do have is of my father answering a tearful apology with, "Talk is cheap, Heather." He essentially said that saying your sorry and making amends--doing the right thing--are two different things. As someone who has at various junctures in her her past dealt in the world of words, I can definitely testify that any competent wordsmith can craft a deft turn of phrase that means absolutely nothing if it isn't backed up with action. I didn't watch the inauguration. I took a test, came down with a migraine headache, tried to read a chapter for my history class and gave up before the festivities were over. What I did read about were the polls portraying buoyant optimism on the part of the American people that President Obama can fix our problems. I saw journalists and commentators tripping over themselves to see who could come up with the most articulate superlative to describe the wonder that is our new president. I was reminded of reality when I read an article about the assassination of a human rights lawyer and his Novaya Gazeta journalist colleague near the Kroptinskaya metro here in Moscow in the last few days. Ah that the world were so simple that saying the right things could fix it. My take on things is decidedly more pragmatic. In an email to a British friend, I wrote, "...if I were less of a cynic, I would allow myself to be swept up in the optimistic tide of the American public and believe that everything will be sunshine, ponies, puppies, rainbows and unicorns now that we have a new president. Alas, I am a cynic and I have spent too many years watching politicians to believe that any politician can ever be a messiah. One can only hope they leave office without breaking all the toys." President Obama is a bright, charismatic, articulate, ambitious individual who has thus far made some shrewd decisions in who he has selected to work with (I think he could have done better than Hillary Clinton at State, but at least she can be a pitbull. Conflict of interest issues over her husband's foundation and library taking money from people like the Saudis makes me nervous. ) If he does try to reach beyond partisanship, avoid the temptation to spend the next four years prosecuting former Bushies to please the extreme Left, and do more than simply increase the size of government and throw money at the problem, he may have a shot at a second term. Absolving American citizens of personal responsibility for their bad spending habits and self-indulgence does not equate to solving problems. We don't need Santa Claus; we need a leader willing to make hard decisions, even if they are unpopular--even if it means people have to suffer the consequences of their choices. President Obama's election is historical but so far, he is symbolic, not substantive. Talk is cheap. Symbols are cheap. In many respects, what his team has excelled at so far is marketing him and selling him to the public. There isn't a lot in his record to justify the accolades that have been heaped on him nor to substantiate the expectations that he can fix all that ails the US. Reality is far more complex than rhetoric. So he said the right things. I can say the right things. Anyone with a good speechwriter can say the right things and say them eloquently. Until his actions show me that he is a man who is willing to deal honestly with the challenges facing our world in a substantive way, I will wait and hope, placing my faith in a merciful God.