Obama - Number 44

Incoming President Obama was sworn in by a Chief Justice for whom he didn't vote. He didn't vote for John Roberts' place on the Supreme Court for purely partisan reasons. Even the liberal leaning ABA gave Roberts a superior rating. The same was true in the treatment of Samuel Alito. Was that walking the walk of 'change' we need in Washington, D.C.? Ruth Bader Ginsberg was given the nod by Republicans when President Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court though there was a distinct difference in judicial philosophy. That is the criteria - if qualified and no glaring offense in the background, the president's choice is voted into place. Except for politicians trying to settle scores or push their own agenda. It will be interesting to watch as the incoming president appoints his nominee to the court. He will no doubt expect better of the U.S. Senate then he gave.

"They lived every day as if there would be another 9/11." That said by Rahm Emmanuel on Meet the Press. "They have done their job keeping us safe at home." Unlike the transition then incoming President Bush and his appointees experienced in 2001, the incoming President Obama will benefit from the generosity and maturity of the Bush administration by so thoroughly being brought current through the transition period. The transition is said to be the smoothest and most thorough in recent times. It is the way President Bush expected his people to act. Leadership starts from the top.

So, while the deranged left continues to do stunts like throw shoes at a picture of President Bush on the Mall and to boo him at the inauguration as well as sing an insult to him as this chopper leaves for the last time, the new President comes into office with none of that.

Republicans continue to show restraint and some level of dignity. Most of us say we wish Obama the best and we hope he is successful in his endeavors to put our country back on course. Already he is validating the legacy of George W. Bush by keeping in place some of his people and he's realized by now that lots of policy he criticized to rouse his crowds on the campaign trail will now be kept in place. Not only have the Bush administration's pursuit of foreign policy been vetted as legal by our courts, they have a proven track record of keeping our country safe for the last eight years. And, that, is the single job description of the President of the United States - to keep the country and her people safe.

The deranged left have done nothing but damage to our country for the past eight years solely for political ideology and we will not soon forget that. Maybe now the new First Lady will "really" be proud of her country. Maybe she will mature into the job, too. She has huge shoes to fill after the stellar performance in office by Laura Bush.

Obama thinks strategy - evident by well-timed outreach to Republicans. He allowed the far left to think he was one of them and the center to think he was also with them. He continues to act as though he is all things to all people. His record in elected office contains a majority of liberal leaning votes.

Let's not forget the ruckus over the cost of the last Bush inauguration. The deranged left so hoped to deny him his day of celebration, after winning re-election quite handily, and now the cost of this inauguration is almost triple that of the last one. No problem. It's only really like the Great Depression when the rhetoric calls for it and a new government program is needed to botch things up.

Laura Bush designed a new, yellow rug for the Oval Office. Yellow was the color chosen to represent optimism (hope) and rays of sunshine (possibilities). Hope and change are not new ideas. The outgoing president came into office with the same goals of changing up Washington D.C. by bringing together both parties to work for common goals to the betterment America. The incoming president comes in with a high level of support, from both sides, which is something the outgoing president never received.

There is no shadow inauguration going on today. There are no loud protests of the new president. For that matter, there was no group like the Congressional Black Caucus who rose on the day Congress verified the electoral votes and tried to deny him his newly elected office - as they did to the outgoing president.

We acknowledge the significance of the first bi-racial president of our country. The constant references to Abe Lincoln, a Republican legend, is obnoxious. Obama is no more in line to be a Lincoln then he is to be JFK or FDR. It is the worst kind of rewrite of history. Lincoln suspended habius corpus, you know. FDR's big government programs prolonged the Great Depression and JFK was far from stellar as a president, though one with a tragic ending. This is not Camelot anymore than it ever truly existed back then.

So, good luck to President Obama. He will need it. We'll all need it, too.

Thank you, President Bush. Well done and a class act to the bitter end.