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Promises

I know that many people don't like President Obama, for any number of reasons. Some of these reasons are more appropriate than others, and I'm not ignorant of his issues. I have some problems with him myself. But when I see things like this, I'm reminded of why I voted for him in the first place:



He's so very good at expressing ideas that I feel and identify with. For the first time, I have felt like a president has really been a representative of what is important to me. Now, he hasn't been as effective as I had hoped, and there's any number of reasons for that. I feel that a truly strong leader could have unified some of the schisms that exist in our political system and affected change more effectively. But the cards have been stacked against him. Overall, I'd give him a B+ - good, but not exceptional. Again, I don't necessarily blame him for this - I believe he did the best he could, given the circumstances, and I don't believe anyone else could have done a better job.

And whatever you say or think, I'm going to miss his rhetorical style and way of speaking. He sounds intelligent without being arrogant, and he speaks to people's hearts and minds without feeling like he's pandering and patronizing. Which is something I'd really like to emulate.

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