1 post tagged “inauguration”

What an amazing thing it was last Tuesday to see one of the new faces of the next generation become President of the United States! From a NZ point of view it is just fantastic to see the end of Bush and his lot. What will the next four years hold, who knows. He is already putting into place legislation to close Guantánamo which I think is fantastic. But where to put the inmates? I'm sure there is a place secure enough in Nevada or Arizona (think Area 51!) where they could be held.

Reading his speech I thought it was very good(must see the video). There was a lot that was said, even though it may have be lacking in specifics. It essentially was a call-to-arms for Americans to get off their behinds and make the country great again. The points that I took notice of were his mention of renewable energy, funding for schools and universities (I assume public) and the image of the US overseas.

Firstly, renewable energy. If he can achieve even a small fraction of what he said, this would mean that the US would be looked upon in a new light when it comes to the issue of climate change.

“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.”

Even now there are mutterings here from the Greens that John Key should follow Obama's lead in this direction.

Also in his speech he briefly mentioned that he wants to “transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.” Whatever this means, it can only be good for the public schools and universities that have had their funding cut and are trying hard not to sacrifice the quality of education offered.

The image of the US overseas has suffered under the previous regime. There were various parts of this address where he mentions how things will be different under his watch. He wants to withdraw from Iraq, seek a new way forward with Muslim nations, work with poorer ones to become prosperous, and most interestingly, he wants to “work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat.” This I found to be a real eye opener, because as well as meaning disarmament, does this also mean that that he wants to soften his stance on our anti-nuclear policy. We will have to find out!

Finally, one policy he did not mention, was his policy on disabilities, which I think is very think is very good

From now on there will be an Obama Watch on my blog. Anything that interests me that he does will be reported here.

It will be interesting to see how long and his approval rating lasts, but as someone in my family has said, all he needs to do is be seen out with his wife and children on a regular basis, and his approval ratings will remain very high!