Evaluating a Presidency

These days, I never watch TV. We don't get television reception, and so I spent a lot of time on my laptop, and I get my news online. I like this; I have a feed reader with Google Reader, and it gives me an assortment of articles from various news agencies -- everything from Fox to CBS, to Reuters to the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. There are articles from various news outlets across the country. This is much more well-rounded than watching just ABC news every evening at 6:00.

And since Obama's presidency has been hailed as a new and different type of governance, I've watched carefully, and with some angst, as he's plunged forward into his first year. Now I basically disagree with Obama on most points of ideology. However I'm more concerned lately by the decisions he's, err, NOT making --

What are we going to do in Afghanistan? It seemed to me that it was the War in Iraq that was questionable, uncertain, undefined, but that Obama, in his campaign, knew exactly what he wanted to do in Afghanistan. Didn't he? He sounded so confident. Now, well, we heard that he'd decided to send in 40,000 troops. Then, that he hadn't decided that at all - did he change his mind? Doesn't he know? We're told that he wants to make the right decision, and must think through all considerations. But hasn't he had time to do that in the past TWO YEARS of his campaign and presidency? If he doesn't know now what we should do there, when will he know? The warnings of 18 months ago, that this man was not prepared for the responsibilities of the office, are sounding in my ears again.

And what about Copenhagen? Is he going, or isn't he? Now I don't agree with the liberals about all this MAN-MADE global warming stuff, (oh, excuse me, they've now adopted the name "climate change," since the latest statistics show that the warming trend isn't really, um, trending!) but you would think that the president would have ALREADY MADE UP HIS MIND about whether he's going. Or, if he really is undecided, please don't tell us!! We don't want to KNOW if our president can't decide about such things! It only worries us!

Yikes.

We did get one decision though. Did you hear that the master-mind behind the 9/11 terrorist attack on NYC is going to be tried in a civilian court, in NYC? Obama has decided this. Mr. Mohammad won't be tried by a military tribunal, but in the more lax and convoluted court of the state. In NYC. Can you immediately hear the defense screaming for a change of venue? As Mr. Giuliani noted, this will give the defense all the various opportunities to evade justice that a civilian court does. If this man is somehow acquitted, how will that reflect on Obama?

Even though I did not vote for him, and I do not approve of his presidency, I must say that the way Obama is conducting himself is a point of concern and disappointment to me. If I have to have a president whom I don't like, I'd at least prefer for him to conduct himself decisively, nobly, and consistently. Obama, I find, is none of these.