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Before Jan 20, 2009, we had a president whom I would describe as follows:
-He had no regard for what those outside of his narrow base thought. -His positions were based on his rigid ideology and did not take into account facts on the ground. -He devalued the relationships with other countries that have benefited the United States since its founding when they disagreed with what he wanted. -He had no regard for the constitution or the separation of powers and would flout both of those principles to get what he wanted. -He used fearmongering to get people to support him. -He was conservative.
On Jan. 20, the new president was none of those things.
Unfortunately, there is a loud minority of "progressives" who, when it came to Bush, may have said they disliked all six of those points, but they were really only unhappy about the last of the six points. In a leader, they really only wanted a liberal Bush.
I supported Obama because he is change from everything I listed. We have a leader who wants to govern rather than maximize his political advantage. He reaches out to people who have different beliefs, even if they might not reciprocate. He is working with our world allies again and winding down the wars the best he can. (and he will NOT start new ones unless there is a REALLY good reason). He respects the role of Congress (he lets them write the laws! Inconceivable!) and the courts. And I believe he is the most liberal president we've had in decades - he believes that government has a role in creating jobs, protecting consumers, and providing health care.
I supported Obama because he is specifically NOT a liberal Bush, but rather a refreshing CHANGE from the bad leadership of previous eight years.
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