Let's Not Make It a Quick Honeymoon

The assumption of the presidency by Barack Obama begins in the middle of a lot of things that are ongoing, some of it not so well. The best analogy I can think up is that his role for an indeterminate period of time will be akin to the relief pitcher who is asked to salvage a game that has been badly botched by the starting pitcher through eight innings (years). The manager (the public) had an opportunity to replace the starting pitcher after the fourth inning, but declined to do so. Now, the very least Obama deserves is a reasonable period of time to turn things around. It must be remembered that he is not a magician and that many of the things that reflect poorly on America were done by choice of the ideologues currently running the country. If the current euphoria turns too quickly to boos, or if those on the other side of the aisle want to stir up trouble for political reasons, the honeymoon will be short lived to the detriment of the country. Obama needs our support and he needs us to be patient as he unravels the mess he has been handed. The corrections cannot and will not be done overnight. His campaign has been built on the optimism of the American people and that public is notoriously impatient with things that do not provide instant gratification. We must all resist this tendency and cut the guy some slack. The future of our country is at stake and we would do well to allow our new president to proceed in the same calm and methodical manner that epitomized his campaign.