Fair Warning to President Obama

I've been in such a good mood lately, and with good reason. First off, my Phillies are leading three games to one in the World Series, and tonight's game gives them the home field advantage. Anyone who has ever attended a major sporting event in Philadelphia can attest to the zeal of the Philly fans. And that's putting it mildly - Flyers games include an unwritten rules allowing fans to spill beer on anyone wearing the other team's jersey. Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus off the field. And pity the poor sap in the stands tonight cheering for Tampa Bay. I could be mistaken but I believe there is an obscure rule on the books in Philadelphia that allows the people are him to kill him, cook him and eat him. I may be wrong.

Go Phils.

So the election draweth nigh, and every poll out there predicts a McCain defeat. Don't take it too personally, Senator. It's not about you, or your POW status, or even your policies. The simple fact that there is an "R" after your name pretty much dooms you. Americans are a fickle lot, and eight years of one party running the railroad is enough. Let's leave out of it the fact that George W. Bush (R) has set the controls for the heart of the sun. Even with the good that Bill Clinton had achieved after eight years, the American voting public demanded a game of musical chairs. Despite Al Gore's being overwhelmingly better suited for the job, Bush the Son skated into the job largely based on the American voting public's desire for something new and different. No matter how cataclysmically bad that choice was, at least it wasn't boring.

We liberals have had eight years to get good and mad about things. There isn't much going on in government that isn't going to get adjusted, if not reversed outright. Domestic policies, foreign policies, fiscal policies, economic, trade, you name it - there will be a new sheriff in town come January, and we're all champing at the bit to see how he's going to fix things.

Obama will have the benefit of a House and Senate that are controlled by the same party - his. And barring the occasional filibuster, we can reasonably expect the Federal government to function according to Democrat Party standards.

Even still, I already feel sorry for Obama. It's not a reflection of how I view his competence. It's not my pervasive pessimism either. It's simply this: Between eight years of Republicans running the Executive Branch and six years of them running the Legislative branch, we've gotten ourselves into a mess. You know how when you dig the Christmas lights out for decorating and untangling them takes longer than hanging them? I suspect Obama will feel like he's untangling the mother lode of all tangles come January, and I do not envy him.

Even so, he should know that about ten seconds after this throng of change-hungry liberals carry him across the goal and into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, that same crowd, in all its fickle glory will begin to pick him apart. Obama will be roundly criticized by both sides. It''s not him - we just do it to our Presidents. They go from savior to goat pretty quickly. When Republicans criticize him for being a liberal, we'll circle the wagons, but we're defending the ideals, not the man. Bill Clinton took a lot of heat from both sides too. It's nothing personal.

So President Obama, if you're reading this, allow me to offer a few suggestions for your first 100 days in office. If you can stick to this list, you'll go a long way towards staving off criticism:

• Give us a deadline for ending the war in Iraq. We want to know the details, and we want you to keep your word. This war, and its inability to limit itself, had a lot to do with getting you elected. We vote for you in hopes of ending it, so let's make it a priority.
• Draft a bill, or ask Congress to draft it, introducing a Constitutional Amendment that the Federal Budget must be balanced.
• Get the ball rolling on national health care. Either draft legislation, or demand it from Congress, to get the damn process started already.
• Figure out a way to address the economic crisis that won't force the government to raise taxes.

Let's start with that. And know, sir, that even though I support you and rally others to do the same, I will be one of your harshest critics if you drop the ball. We've had eight years of idiotic leadership, and we're expecting quite a lot from you. I do not envy you, but I cannot bring myself to pity you either.

Godspeed to you, sir.