In the midst of all the euphoria and hope coming from the inauguration of Barack Obama, I feel it's my duty to remind you that not everyone feels the "Obama high." There are those who believe that Obama has already demonstrated that he is not a good President. Some of these people are just Democrat-haters. They are among those who, using some kind of new logic, blamed Bill Clinton for the 9/11 tragedy and felt that George W. Bush, who had been President for almost a year and ignored all the warnings, bore none of the responsibility for it. Then there are those who just feel Obama is an example of "too good to be true." And finally, there are those who enjoy puncturing balloons of hope. So, there were people who felt that Obama has been doing a poor job "from Day One."
You might have viewed the inauguration as an inspiring event. But this is how "they" probably viewed it:
At the swearing-in ceremony, Chief Justice Roberts made a mistake and made Obama stumble a bit. Roberts was obviously too busy to have rehearsed this oath, but shouldn't Obama have been smoother? If Obama can't even handle an oath, how is he going to handle the problems of a nation in trouble?
And speaking of trouble, Obama had promised to tackle our economic problems immediately. Yet on the day of the inauguration, the stock market went down 332 points. Nice work, Mr. President.
Over and over again over the past few months, he promised millions of new jobs. But while he was wearing his fancy tux, many people were still out of work.
And what about Iraq? Did the war come to an end right when he said the words, "So help me, God?" It did not. And now it is "Obama's war." How he ends it will determine how he will be remembered by historians. If we play our cards right, nobody will remember who started this war or why.
The fawning press is sickening. Why did nobody in the media have the courage to say, "That's an ugly dress?"
How bad was that inaugural poem? It didn't even rhyme.
And Aretha Franklin's hat looked like something Dick Cheney tried to shoot.
We've been told over and over again that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle care deeply about family and family values. Oh, really? Exactly how late did they allow their daughters to stay up after the inauguration? And it was a school night.
And then we come to broken promises. For months, Obama went out of his way to tell the public that there was one issue of the utmost importance that he would deal with. He committed himself to this issue above all others. This was, of course, the promise of acquiring a new puppy for his daughters. Where was the puppy on "Day One?" I didn't see a puppy up there with Obama and friends, did you?
Our new President has told us that the selection of the alleged puppy is not easy because it is necessary for the Obama family to choose a dog which is as hypoallergenic as possible. At last report, the appointment of First Dog was said to be narrowed down to a Portuguese Water Dog and a Labradoodle. While either would be precedent breaking, neither seems like an appropriate choice for the White House.
The Portuguese Water Dog is, obviously, Portuguese. Wouldn't that be a slap in the snout to all of the perfectly good American breeds? The Labradoodle isn't even a recognized breed of dog. It's a combination of a Labrador retriever and a Poodle (and we know what country Poodles are from). The Labradoodle supposedly has the best characteristics of each - in other words, it is a genetically engineered dog. Have the American people really finished their debate on mad scientists fooling around with genes?
So, is there a President who has ever had a worse Day One than Barack Obama? You tell me.
That's how they may view him. Personally, I say give the guy a chance. Then you can blame him for 9/11, bad gas mileage, and that cold you have that doesn't seem to be going away.
Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Home Improvement" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. He can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com. Check out his website at lloydgarver.com and his podcasts on iTunes.