There have been a few defining moments in the history of this country that showed the world what we were really made of. One of them occurred at the end of World War II. We had won the war and were in great shape compared to the rest of the war ravaged world. We could have just built ourselves up more at the time and become the greatest superpower the world has ever known. We could have even attacked the old Soviet Union and put them out of commission and we would have had absolutely no competition. After all we were the world's only nuclear power at the time. We didn't do any of this however. We chose to do the right thing and we started the Marshall Plan and helped to rebuild Europe. We put a government into Japan that helped our former bitter enemy to rebuild itself and today Japan has the second strongest economy in the world. That was the American way. Today as I write this article another historical event has taken place, one that is even harder to believe. Americans everywhere, from every walk of life have showed that we are tired of what is going on in our country. We have gotten together and elected the first black president.

We didn't elect him because he was black, but because he promised us an end to the horrible policies that are taking place in Washington. Policies that kept us fighting wars that we really didn't believe in, policies that pulled down our economy and the economy of the entire world and policies that saw the number of uninsured grow. These same policies alienated many of the nations that we have to deal with every day. It seems like our present government enjoys sticking pins into some countries so that we could keep us on a sort of war footing forever, thus enriching the military industrial complex. Eisenhower had warned us about this and in his departing speech he told us never to let this group get too strong. Wow was he right. The current president did something right, oh not for most of us, but for that 4% of people that have the greatest bulk of riches in this country, he made them richer.

Many were scared that Obama was not only black, but was far too liberal. I can't help but believe that this business about being too liberal is just a bunch of baloney. To some, if you try and get hospitalization for those that don't have it, you are too liberal, but it is okay to give billions to company executives. What they are really proclaiming is that they are extremely selfish and don't care about others, but they wrap these feelings in words like socialism and liberalism, when the suggestion is made to help others. Another thing that they talk about is that the Democrats will bankrupt this country. If I can stop laughing for a second, I would like to say that this has to be the height of hypocrisy. We have been put into a financial hole by the most wasteful and spendthrift government that has ever appeared on the face of the earth and yet these same people think nothing of making statements like this.

Right now the entire world is in awe of us. They are in a state of shock. Never would have any of them believed that this could have happened, that the American people could have gotten together and elected Obama. This has to be one of our proudest moments. We have shown the world that we are Americans and that anything is possible in America and that even though we are composed of many different races, we can get together and even do what was considered unthinkable just a few years ago for the betterment of our country. I saw a headline in a French paper that asked the question, “Would France ever elect a black man as president?” I can't help but think that with this single act, we have shown the world that we are ready to join the world community not as some sort of super policemen, but as equals and the world has reacted. While most countries are in utter disbelief, they now see a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

Things will not be easy for President Obama. There are already things happening that will put pressure on him. The Russians are moving missiles near the missiles we put in Poland and have announced this today. Everyone knew that when we put missiles in Poland we would provoke the Russians and I believe that is exactly why President Bush did this, to keep up the pressure that allows more military contracts and such. It was despicable. It would have been nice if the Russians would have waited until President Obama took office before reacting and maybe this could have been settled. We claimed that the missiles are anti-missiles and for defense only. If this were true, they could have been put anywhere and didn't need to be put so close to the Russian border and in a former Soviet Block country, to rub Russia's nose in it.

President Obama has promised that the middle class and the poor will benefit from programs he wants to put in effect. These classes of people are long overdue for relief and make up the bulk of our country. The rich are furious, they think that they will have to pay higher taxes. Warren Buffet addressed some tax cuts that President Bush had made and even though he is one of the richest men in the world, he said that these cuts were a disgrace since they really were aimed only at the rich. There are so many tax loopholes and tax shelters that can be employed that some of these people pay very little if anything in taxes, while salaried workers and retirees have taxes taken directly out of their paychecks. Will some of these loopholes be closed? I certainly hope so and I have no compassion for the rich who want to keep everything for themselves and have no regard for their country or others. Everyone should pay their share.

Putting everyone into the same pool for hospitalization coverage, if done right, can be a big plus. The larger the group, the smaller the premium, theoretically. There might even be enough left over to straighten out the drug program. There is certainly nothing wrong with universal hospitalization and how anyone can call this wrong just shows what they are made of. Will President Obama be able to accomplish this? He has a good chance with 56 Democratic senators at the time of this article. Four Senate races are still to be decided.

I certainly don't expect President Obama to be perfect and I am sure things will happen that I don't like, but most of what I heard promised, I do like. I think that this is a great time to be an American and that we are on the cusp of a new age, one that is far better for everyone than what we have experienced in the last eight years.