The Shape of Things to Come

In Monday's New York Times there is an article, "Obama Weighs Quick Undoing of Bush Policy" which outlines some of the actions President-Elect Obama is planning to enact by executive order when he takes office. Indeed, in August, before he had been formally nominated at the Democratic convention, a transition team was already at work going over executive orders signed by President Bush that Obama could countermand by executive order. Among these are limits on stem cell research and the expansion of oil and gas drilling into national parks, the latter announced last week by Bush.

As I read the article I remembered one charge made by Hilary Clinton and John McCain was that they would be ready on Day One, that they would not need "on the job training". Guess what? Obama is going to be ready before Day One.

The Times article stated that on Bush's first full day in office, he reinstated an executive order prohibiting taxpayer money from "being given to international family planning groups that perform abortions and provide abortion counseling." This EO will probably be overturned by Obama.

The change that a great majority of us were aching for was a change from an ideologically based presidency in which allegiance was given to abstract principles that showed no compassion for the impact of its ideology on the lives of people. Bush is a true believer, and is no different than the Taliban mullahs, Iranian ayatollahs, and all the other religious and political tyrants who have made millions suffer in the name of their religions.

January 21, 2009 cannot come fast enough!

Julius Lester
©2008