President Barack Obama--First Year in Office--January 20, 2010

President Barack Obama completed his first year in office today, January 20, 2010.  In an exclusive interview on ABC News Nightline, he speaks openly and frankly with George Stephanopoulos.  President Obama reflected that he is concerned that it is difficult to have people continue to operate on shared vision and values.  He was elected on a platform of change and has found it incredibly challenging to change the "status quo" in Washington, D.C. politics.

Too many people are enamoured of politics and their parties rather than on the real issues of the middle class of the USA.  President Obama noted that he chose to put health care to the forefront of his agenda because of the horror stories about health care he had heard from people around the country during his campaign.

Regarding support for Haiti, President Obama said that the USA needs to be able to support people (especially neighbors) in need rather than just showing force in war.

I believe that President Obama is doing his best to deliver on what he proposed to do when he was elected.  Jobs and health care are closely tied together.  The present health care bill represents a compromise and, according to President Obama, about 90% of the Senate bill matches that of the House.  While some people are opposed to the bill it is clear that we need to change health care in the USA.

Right now health care plans are affordable only while someone is working.  Even COBRA payments (which run for 18 months when someone leaves work involuntarily) are too high to afford unless supported by the Federal Government.

Jobs are a major challenge.  Many highly qualified people have been laid off and cannot find work that values their education and experience or that pays them enough to take care of their families.  The government is helping to extend unemployment benefits and those benefits do not really pay all the bills.  People need to work and are actively looking for work--and are still not finding it.

I believe that President Obama faces the dilemma that the public is impatient and finds it hard to maintain focus on shared vision and values.  Because people are not getting their needs met in a timely way, they are upset with the government--even though the causes for their upset predate President Obama's administration by many years.  The vote in Massachusetts shows that the public still wants change.  That someone would run just to oppose what President Obama is trying to accomplish seems to fly in the face of reason--though that is the way much of the problem is created.  People appeal to emotion and vested interest groups--for example, the Oil industry, the Health Insurance industry--know how to use media to stir up emotional response.

I believe President Obama is doing a good job and needs more help to "get it right" for the American people.  The organizations he started during his campaign seem more like lobbying groups appealing for money than for real problem-solving resources.  They just become another voice making what President Obama referred to as "noise" (think of it as static that you hear between stations when tuning a radio).

We need the kinds of changes President Obama is proposing and I strongly believe in his idea of having the USA show its concern and ability by supporting neighbors (and others) in need rather than trying to impose what we want on other nations.  We need to defend ourselves, of course, and the way the terrorists are currently operating makes that especially challenging.

I wasn't particularly pleased by George Stephanopoulos' attitude expressed during the interview or by the way he seemed to cut the President off to make his points.  Hopefully the President was allowed to communicate what he wanted to during the interview and I thank ABC News for its efforts on behalf of the public.

I also want to thank President Obama and his family for their dedication and commitment throughout this first year of his Presidency and to wish them well for the years ahead.  I believe history will show President Obama to have been an exceptional leader working in exceptional times.