Out of the Closet

I admit it. I'm the only person who doesn't feel a groundswell of pride and anticipation in the days leading up to the inauguration.

Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it doesn't feel like one. I don't vote for Barack Obama. I don't care for a lot of his policies. I dread our inevitable switchover to socialized medicine. But hey, we've nationalized the auto and banking industies; why not socialize medicine?

But Obama is my President for the next four years. If he does well, hopefully, we all do well. Hopefully, he'll be able to navigate our country through a very difficult time passage and see us through to relative stability on the other side. You have to be the worst kind of partisan not to have those hopes.

People have compared Obama to Lincoln, FDR, or JFK to try to capture his essence. I have another comparison: Ronald Reagan. The 70s were a disaster for this country, from Vietnam to Watergate to leisure suits to stagflation and our great national malaise. We exited the 70s unsure about ourselves and our country. We'd seen our best days and the great national lessening would have to continue.

And Reagan came on the scene preaching hope, talking about a great shining city and how it was morning in America. Obama's rhetoric was different, but his message was the same. The long dark night is over and we're going to move forward into the day. That's not a message John McCain can convey.

So, as another morning dawns in America, I'll hope along with the rest of you that this guy has the answer. After all, until 2012, he's the man.

Let's just hope he's the next Ronald Reagan and not the next Jimmy Carter.