As a Republican, the past few years have been hard to watch and go through. Trying to rationalize why a man who earned so much support and gave the party so much hope, turned out to be as big of a failure as the poop-flavored lollipop, is just mind numbing. It is a very unappealing time to be a Republican, and it is very hard for me to write this about President-elect Obama, but I hope he does an amazing job. 

Although he did not receive my vote, I now acknowledge him as my president and can only hope that he takes this country out of the depths it is currently in and makes it soar. For me to hope that the country goes even farther south under Obama would be selfish. Although there is some question as to whether his policies can put us back on top, I now have something that his campaign talked much about, hope. Watching Obama give his speech did fill me with hope and pride to be American. He talked about ending partisan politics and working together to achieve the ultimate goal of making America the greatest, and that is all that is ever asked from a president. Whether Obama means those words or not is yet to be determined, but so far he is off on the right foot.

What does it look like for Obama to unite this country? Well, for starters, do something that most politicians in this country have forgotten about and follow the Constitution. This means checking the size and power of the executive branch of the government, which is currently as bloated as a rotting whale carcass. For Obama to scale back his power and authority is necessary and very noble. Another way to unite this country is to have the people rely on themselves and on other Americans for the things they need, not the government. This is America at its best, when the government is out of the way and the people have the most control.

Obama will also have to do something that no politician has done in a long time — level with us. This country has fallen on very hard times and we don’t need someone who is going to tell us that it will be okay in a few short months and that there won’t be hardships. The problems this country is facing are not going to go away with some magical bill for Obama to sign — it’s going to have to come from us gritting our teeth and working at it. Obama needs to be stern and encourage people to practice responsible fiscal policies, like only buying stuff that we can afford. He needs to make sure businesses have a chance to flourish and people are not being punished for achieving success. 

This is not a very easy task that Obama is set up for, and success will not come easily. McCain supporters, we must realize that Obama is now our president and, while we might not agree with all his decisions, we were the ones who said “Country First” and put pride aside to hope for a better America. This does not mean Obama should not be criticized, but we need to give him his fair chance and not just criticize him because he is a liberal. 

So there you have it: If Obama wants a unified America, those are some of the obstacles in his way. It won’t be easy and chances are he won’t be able to overcome them, but I can only hope that I am wrong and he is everything he claims to be. No matter who they are, what race they are or which side of the aisle they sit on, we should always hope that they love America just as much as we do and only want to make it continue to be the best place this earth has ever known.

Good luck, Barack Obama, my new president.

— Justan Spaid is a sophomore in history from McCallsburg.