I was on the road all day today. Thanks to the modern miracle of XM Radio, I was able to listen to what everyone else watched. I hope you watched.
Like no other time before, my mind was thrust through memories of American history; from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, etc. This all occurred quite by surprise. I dwelt a lot about what I think of President George Bush (that he's a good man to the core, and kept our nation safe); I thought of President Obama (that he is a pragmatist, and appears to be a good man as well).
I mused over the transition process from one Administration to another, and how every report on this transition have been sterling. A much maligned outgoing president embracing the incoming president and offering him every courtesy and form of assistance that was asked for. It was noted by some commentators on the radio that they found it particularly interesting that Presidents Bush and Obama embraced a number of times in public over the last day or two - that none of them had ever recalled seeing that level of affection between presidents in a transition.
I'm proud of President Bush. I'm proud of President Obama. I'm proud of what the Presidency means to America, and what America means to the world.
I'm sad for the people I spoke with today who said (and all those others out there who thought): "I just couldn't bear to watch it", because they voted for the other guy. I'm sad for those who said (and thought): "I am so glad Bush is out." I'm sad for them because they failed to see, learn, and incorporate the lesson that their respective heros just taught us: There's a time for debate and campaigning. Then there time to let it go and move on.
Graciousness, courtesy, and class above all. Thanks, Presidents Bush and Obama, for your examples.
Go America.
