On the day after the inauguration of Barack Obama, many spent the week eagerly offering up their hopes and high expectations. While some might think that Obama is being deluged by grassroots tidings, advice and admonitions. From reversing Bush’s “anti-terror” traumas to rescuing the economy from possible depression, everyone has a wish list for the Prez.
Here are some excerpts from Obama’s expectant constituents…
(cross posted at kickin it with cg)
“Letter to Obama: scale out arms dealing and make it illegal by the year 2020; write into every defense contract a requirement for a peacetime project; convert military bases to housing for the poor; require military personnel to devote part of their time to rebuilding infrastructure; fund social services and take the balance out of defense and homeland security budgets.”
DEEPAK CHOPRA
“My advice to the Obama team is to scrap the business tax cuts, and, more important, to deal with the threat of doing too little by doing more. The way to do more is to look more broadly at the possibilities for government investment to provide further relief to Americans in distress – enhanced unemployment benefits, expanded Medicaid and more.”
PAUL KRUGMAN
“Remember his 2007 words about Palestinian suffering and his campaign pledge to talk unconditionally with adversaries. The silence on Gaza, Obama must know, is extremely costly. The bright promise of moral leadership is sullied and squandered, along with the potential of America’s ability to be an even-handed mediator.”
TOM HAYDEN, peace activist
“For all Richard Nixon’s faults, his trip to China is remembered as a courageous, far-sighted initiative that opened a new era in Sino-American relations. A trip to Cuba by President Barack Obama would be no less historic.”
WILLIAM M. LEOGRAND and PETER KORNBLUH, LA Times
“Make a clean break from the George W. Bush regime’s law of rule to our declared commitment to the rule of law. Bush-Cheney’s stream of criminal and unconstitutional actions are on auto-pilot. Break these daily patterns as soon as you ascend to the presidency or be held increasingly responsible for them.”
RALPH NADER
“Speak not so much to him as to America. After Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s election in 1932, FDR met with Sidney Hillman and other labor leaders. Hillman and his allies arrived with plans they wanted the new president to implement. Roosevelt told them: ‘I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it.'”
JOHN NICHOLS, The Progressive
“We have to stop looking at him and start looking to ourselves, the people who knocked on doors, reached out independently of the campaign, signed petitions, registered voters around the clock and organized the most amazing campaign in American history to see who has the leverage to defeat the lobbyists, special interests and Republican operatives who will do everything to derail change.”
DANNY SCHECHTER, mediachannel.org
“A shift from green jobs to a broader focus on green technology. This would require federal investments on the scale of $500 billion over the next decade.”
TERYN NORRIS and JESSE JENKINS, Huffington Post
“It’s troubling that Obama ramped up his rhetoric about exiting Iraq to focus on what he calls the ‘central front in the war on terror,’ Afghanistan. An escalation would drain resources vital to his goals for an economic recovery, health care and social justice at home. Too few people in the mainstream media are asking tough questions.”
KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL, The Nation
“Now that you’re president you have lots of responsibilities. As an American citizen I know some tips the people want you to take care of. My first concern is having you focus on finding Osama Bin Laden, and taking the troops to where he is instead of having them in Iraq, dying and losing family and friends, fighting for nothing. Osama is a huge threat to our country. Another tip is to try and solve if not all, but most of, poverty in Africa. Little children are dying, babies don’t live to enjoy our world. Kids left orphans. Older brothers, only 12-years-old, take care of their 6-year-old sisters, no parents just them. Cardboard boxes are being used as beds. This is a problem you can’t ignore. This problem is my number one concern. Please fix it. Global warming is yet another problem. It is so expensive to fix but important to fix. Go solar power, stop cutting down trees, recycle. The world should have generations of people to come. But in all the trouble of the world stop being Superman for us, be Superman for yourself and your family. The White House is full of rooms to enjoy. Take your family out to ice cream. Don’t let your daughters feel like you don’t care about them. Also, trust your daughters. When they go out don’t send your entire pack of security, just two. Also spend time by yourself. In the newspaper I saw a before and after picture of the past presidents. They aged so much. So take time for yourself and relax. A spa, yoga, fun activities and sports, all these will help. But if you still age use Neutrogena deep wrinkle. I may be a kid but I watch the news, read the newspaper and listen to my parents’ conversations. I know a lot about what is going on. Take these tips and make your job easier. Congratulations on becoming president.”
YEHYA SESAY, 6th Grader, MA
“You know, if you’re the president you only have two jobs: peace and money. That’s it.”
CHRIS ROCK
And of course here’s my advice to Obama, “listen, measure and act.” Yep – should be easy as pie making everyone happy.
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