Flutterby™! : XKCD on JFK 2010-06-14 15:26:24.292669+00

XKCD on JFK

2010-06-14 15:26:24.292669+00 by Dan Lyke 1 comments

I have, several times, mentioned that I view JFK as a scary and frightening figure in United States history, and that "ask not what you can do for your country" is emblematic of that string of '50s era people who hated the Constitution and personal freedoms and pretty much everything we've been told this nation should stand for.

Yes (and, of course, check the hover text), I also said during the last Presidential election that I hoped Obama could be the JFK or Reagan for this generation. Alas, it looks like he's becoming that, and not in the "inspire and motivate the nation" way...

I'd have to agree. We got one of the best spoken presidents since Reagan but he's proving to be as inspiring as Carter. The Demos just seem to be doing what Demos do. Maybe that's why the GOP is being so stalwart. We (the public) keep hoping for Obama's "Change" and the GOP keep saying "Same shit, different president."

In general, I prefer the Democratic platform over the GOP. I work for a science organization in the Federal Government and can point out how Bush and the GOP has gutted the science that should inform policy. It's exactly why the Gulf of Mexico is filling with oil: Mineral Management was directed by Bush not to really bother with things like "environmental impact" and just get the permits out. Any scientist who dared to question policy was stifled.

But what I thought I signed up for, in voting for Obama, was a president who made me excited about my work and excited to be an American. But it's just not there.

Granted, for a large portion of the US population who are not Caucasian, just the mere existence of Obama is a source of inspiration. But I'm afraid the guy is riding too much on that. He needs to pick one topic and run with it (like Bush did). Let his administration handle everything else. The US is full of fires. It always has been. The President shouldn't be a fire fighter, he should be a leader - convincing all of us that we want to fight the fire.