Amid my excitement watching the presidential election returns last night, I breezed through that day's issue of The New York Times I'd picked up earlier in the day. I don't subscribe to the newspaper but on occasion, I pick up a copy and revel in something near and dear to my heart, print journalism.
Of course, the front page featured the election on the last day of this year's historic campaign. When I turned to the editorial page -- a favorite of mine -- my mood soured as I read the headline and opening paragraph of the lead editorial, "So Little Time, So Much Damage." My measured thrill, anticipating the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of our country, was dampened by the anger I feel for the 43rd president of this country. You know the one. He's the guy who, with his brazen lack of understanding of virtually anything and everything, has brought this great country to the brink of disaster. I was reminded once again how little I envied the mess that either candidate for the presidency was not only going to inherit but, to their credit, was actually willing to shoulder. Now, that's leadership.
The New York Times editorial simply reminded me of the despicable behavior exhibited by a U.S. President who simply doesn't think that little, aged and fragile document, The Constitution, applies to him or his cronies. Sure, the rest of us peons have to obey. But not him. Not his adminstration. For they believe they can do anything they want under the guise of impending terrorism.
Sadly, the American people and Congress have allowed George Bush and Dick Cheney and their minions to discard our rights to privacy and dignity. We have condoned this abusive behavior by doing nothing to hold this adminstration accountable for their actions and the actions of those agencies who have blatantly ripped our Constitution to shreds. Their behavior has been unconscionable. We failed in failing to rise up and challenge it.
As I watched the election results pile up in Obama's favor, I could visualize Bush feverishly signing executive orders right and left in the Oval Office as he angrily listened to coverage on Fox News. As fast as he could, he was destroying the Constitution, the environment and this country's leadership role in an ever-shrinking world. That's the legacy he leaves. I maintain faith that history will judge his reign of terror for precisely what it has been; a pox on the world's greatest democracy.
So my happiness with Barack Obama's historic election was tempered by the overwhelming weight of recognizing the task before him -- rebuilding a broken country with a discarded Constitution in an angry world. No doubt I can thank the current President for Obama's success. Sadly, I doubt Bush has accepted one iota of blame for the massive defeat of John McCain, although everyone with a clue in this country knows where to place blame. Finally, we are at the end of eight long years of tyranny and hubris. The world rejoices.
Godspeed to Barack Obama, who inherits not the wind but the failed policies of a President who simply never understood the role this country plays in the world and, even more important, the role the federal government should play in the lives of each of its citizens.
As I listened to President-elect Obama's somber but grateful acceptance speech, I found myself memorizing his physical appearance on this historic night. By the end of his first term, I anticipate I will see the facial lines and gray hair that mark those who seek and earn the privilege to serve in the highest office of this land. I anticipate those characteristics will, in his case, appear far sooner. Yet another legacy of George W. Bush.
