Back Into Politics: Personally I'll Wait and See

I will be glad when Barack Obama is inaugurated tomorrow. Perhaps we can soon get down to substance. Out of the options Obama was clearly the best choice. Hillary Clinton is very smart but her tactics are similar to those of Bush. She takes more of a do what I say or I'll make you sorry approach to both campaigning and policy. John McCain would have been a disaster. Out of the three Obama seems the wisest, the most realistic, and the most persuasive.

I do not buy into Omamamania though. I'm hopeful that he will extract the U.S. from Iraq. I think it's possible that some of the huge bailout coming will go to the people rather than large corporations. He may make some strides in improving health care, the environment and poverty in the US. Ultimately I fully believe that he will return the US to the international bargaining table to try to resolve issues rather than simply saying 'you're with us or against us.'

The Change though that Obama represents is limited. On the same day the first black President was elected one of the most liberal of US states declared that hate, bigotry and intolerance are still ok in the United States. By choosing Rick Warren to give the invocation Obama indicated that he agrees.

So I won't watch much of the inauguration tomorrow, perhaps edited hi-lights. I want to get down to substance and see what he'll actually do. I am glad to see Bush on his way out and will certainly celebrate the Obama Presidency but only after he ears it through policy and results. Even if Obama attempts real change I still have doubts that Americans will go along, especially if they themselves are asked to sacrifice for that change.

Since the Canadian parliament was pirogued I haven't said much about politics but now that the holidays are fully over that is about to change. Back in October I mentioned the Un-Party idea. Over the next several days I'm going to make some suggestions for policies I would like to see the government pursue and then will present those ideas to the Facebook group a few of these ideas I have presented before. Others are new but broadly I'll cover the topics of arts and culture, poverty and homelessness, industry and public investment, crime, the environment, labour/workplace reform, electoral and political reform, education, Canadian sovereignty and aboriginal affairs.