Will Obama live up to the expectations?

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Picture this: You’ve been pursuing your dream job for years, and finally you’ve got it. Now you need to relocate, find a great school for the kids and something that will keep your wife busy. After all that’s settled, it’s time to prepare for that new job of yours. As soon as you’ve handled the necessary accommodations you can sit back and enjoy your new life.
Oh wait, you’re now President-elect of the United States. And one more tiny detail: You’re black.
Sounds like an easy transition.
After the past eight years, I have a hard time imagining why anyone would want this job. Obama is facing two wars, ever-sprouting terrorist attacks, a rapidly failing economy and a country desperate to be saved.
On top of that, citizens all over the world have fallen in love with him and the idea that he represents what was deemed impossible. He couldn’t shake the “hope” off him if he tried.
Watching his speech on Election Night, in between the tears I suddenly couldn’t keep up with, I wondered what he was thinking at that very moment. He held that confident, charismatic demeanor he’d had during the campaign, but at that very moment he must have realized his whole life had changed.
And if it was me, I would have thought, “What did I just get myself into?”
This man is not just inheriting a huge mess in America, he is also being put on a pedestal by people all over the world, who already have their own presidents. I think we just took overwhelming pressure and we raised it.
If you take a glance at our current president, he looks pretty worn and beaten (although I think he asked for it). Harry Truman left office without an ounce of hair on his head (although he didn’t have much to begin with). And if you look at the decisions these men (can we have a woman … someday?) have to make, it’s no wonder.
Abraham Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation, knowing it would tear the country in half and force us into Civil War.
Franklin D. Roosevelt showed unwavering leadership during the Great Depression, knowing he needed to uplift the American people even as they entered another war.
And although this could be considered a “desk job,” four presidents have been assassinated while in office, which definitely gives the job of “president” a James Bond “street cred.”
But, in my personal opinion, Obama is facing more challenges than any president before him. Not only is he the president of our great nation and the leader of the free world, but in only a few months, he became someone the whole world was hoping we would elect.
I listened to a French man on Charlie Rose explain that Obama would be able to help solve the poor relations with Russia. Really? Can you at least let the man move into the White House first? And maybe spend a day sorting it all out?
My political junkie/baseball-obsessed roommate now refers to President-elect Obama as the Jackie Robinson of politics.
I just hope that in a few months, when we continue to face these same challenges, we can all take a step back from this unrealistic euphoria and realize that the president-elect is up against problems that were created during at least eight years, which cannot easily be solved in four.
The best way I can explain this is to combine the two things I love most – dating and politics. Obama is basically the man of my dreams. He is wickedly intelligent, dangerously handsome and overwhelmingly confident. And all I can do is hope that these butterflies are actually real and that these wonderful promises won’t add to a landfill of historic lies. But no matter what, he will still always be better than the last guy.