Realistic

Yes it is, Negative Nancy. :p I'll refrain from quoting all the times you said he couldn't possibly win. :)

I don't expect miracles. Everyone else on the ground doesn't either, I don't think. I think we expect him to have dignity and intelligence and move carefully. That's about it.

I'd like to see those quotes.

My opinion was that his campaign and some people on this board were being overly optimistic. Obama himself cautioned everyone not to be overconfident. I think that was one of the reasons he won. He didn't want anyone sitting on their laurels. At one point, I also thought Obama wasn't being tough enough. A couple of days later, he ramped up his campaign. I'm not saying I'm psychic, but the Obama camp and I had the same thoughts about how his campaign was going off track a couple of times. Maybe it's a Hawai'i thing.
:D

His election has already had the effect of moving America back towards the America the world wants to believe in.

I am looking for him to repair international relationships and implement his plan to get Iraq moving towards its self sufficiency, and bring more support to Afghanistan in attempts to stabilize that region of the ME.

I also know that despite the belief of the current administration, the President cannot make these decisions alone.

More to come, its' taken me over an hour to get this much.

This is a really challenging post, because - like GC - *have* been a Negative Nancy. I just couldn't allow myself to believe it could happen because I didn't want to be crushed again. Today, I am stunned and happy. And optimistic - but still cautious.

I want him to surround himself with a cabinet that is not just intelligent, but which includes some No-Men, and opponents. I want him to take a hint from Lincoln and his "Team of Rivals." I may be firmly liberal and progressive, but I recognize this is a broad country, and I want every decision to be considered carefully, not charged into blindly. I want him to use that intelligent, cool judgment he's shown he's capable of, and I want him to use it in the oval office.

I want us to re-develop relationships internationally. I want us to stop pretending we're a empire when we're actually the broke and delusional homeless dude who's wearing his pretend superhero cape. I want us to carefully transfer control of Iraq to Iraqis. I want us not to give up on finding Bin Laden. I want us to try to fix situations with words before resorting to violence. I want us not to act without the support of our allies. I want us to ****ing HAVE allies.

I want the new administration to look seriously at the economy. I want us not to reward those who got us into this cluster****, but I want to aid those who were - granted - responsible for getting into irresponsible loans, but perhaps were duped by the greedy bastards. I want something like the New Deal for those who are out of work and struggling.

I want Obama to help the cause of gay rights, of improvement of schools, and the future of energy.

And mostly, I just want him to be the smart, capable person he's been. To follow through on that as best he can. I don't expect him to be perfect. But considering I really respect and like him, I can see that he's capable of good leadership and I want him to do his best. I think he will.

What he said! This is what I was telling my co-worker.

I want to see the Constitutional mandate of separation of powers restored to a sane definition. I'd like the rule of law to be applied to ALL people, whether we suspect them of hating us or not. And I want to see the discourse in this country guided towards actual thought and discussion rather than hatred towards those we disagree with.

Obama had to deliberately dumb himself down to win the middle-of-the-road voters. Now, as President, he'll be the most intelligent guy who's ever held the office.

I will admit, I too look forward to that aspect of an Obama Presidency.

To triangulate or not to trianglulate.....that is the question:D