Change has come

On the flight to DC I had plenty of time to read. And read I did starting with a copy of Rolling Stone which I picked up at the airport. The cover story is a fictional interview in which the rolling stone writer tells Bush what he really thinks of him and Bush apologizes through tears. It’s the reason I picked up the magazine, but what really caught my attention was the next article about the state of the nation and what Obama has to face as our incoming president. When it came to describing how screwed up Bush is leaving this country it didn’t mince words. It’s the article I would have loved to read years ago. I don’t want to say too little too late, but I still enjoyed it. There’s something cathartic about finally reading what you’ve thought for years in a major, national publication. Although, I took it with a grain of salt, knowing that Rolling Stone is considered to be somewhat left leaning and has always been out ahead of the curve when it comes to politics. I then opened the New Yorker. The surprising thing was that the article was almost identical in its condemnation of Bush and his failed policies. They didn’t even attempt to shed a favorable light on the failed Presidency of number 43. The next magazine on my list was the Economist, a magazine that is well respected, intelligently written and, I think, fairly even-handed. The lead article in this issues starts with the line, “George Bush has left a dismal legacy, but Barak Obama can do much to repair the damage.” And that’s just the beginning. Never before have I witnessed such open contempt of an outgoing president from main stream publications. He hasn’t even left office and already it has become common place to list him as one of if not the worst President in American history. I know what you’re thinking, how could I be surprised after all that has happened in the last eight years. And you’d be right. But I’ve know this for a long, long time. So when the war failed and the economy went down the toilet I wasn’t the least bit surprised. It was just more of the same on a bigger scale. I guess I figured the reaction would be the same, partisan bickering. But somehow, somewhere along the way the rest of the world decided to join us in our loathing of the Pres. There’s no longer any beating around the bush(haha). It’s out in the open, Bush has failed miserably and I don’t even have to argue that point anymore. The American people have truly had enough of politics as usual. Everywhere I turn there are signs that this is a time like no other that I have witnessed. Something fundamental has shifted in American politics and in the American psyche. And, wait for it, it’s shifted for the better!! To top it off, America has found it’s change in a smart, eloquent, even tempered, African American! After the election of 2004, not in my wildest dreams did I think America could have made such an abrupt and commendable change in direction. And even if that weren’t enough, for the first time in my life I boarded a packed plane full of smiley, happy people. That’s when you know it isn’t business as usual.

I leave you with a picture of a kid from our flight, who donned an Obama mask and spoke over the PA system announcing, “Change has come!”