Being Intellectually Honest...Even In Politics

When President Bush was sworn into office, I was cheering on the guy who I had toted, posted, and waved signs for during the Virginia Commonwealth primary against John McCain back in the early days of this millennium. (It's not that I had anything against McCain at the time, I just thought George Bush was the better candidate - and still believe so). However, like after many types of victory dances (and no, I didn't actually dance), there's a feeling of emptiness that followed. I'm reminded of the astronaut Al Bean from Apollo 12 who, after he left the moon and headed back to earth asked, "is that all there is?"

Okay, admittedly, a long way to travel to get in a NASA reference. That said, I waited, and waited for President Bush to "feel" like President Bush to me. For him to no longer have the feel of the new guy, but to actually feel like "the guy". Different people probably began to think of him as The President at different times, but for me (and many others, I think), it was September 14, 2001 when he visited the Ground Zero recovery operations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiSwqaQ4VbA&feature=related). On that day, he quickly changed from the new guy to the President of the United States. Academically speaking, of course, I already knew it. I knew it when he took the oath of office. But, I find there is a difference between understanding something academically, and "feeling" that same thing inside (in my heart, in my bones, whatever).

As I watch video clips of President Obama traveling in the Middle East, I'm struck with the sense that he's still the new guy. He still appears to be the guy being led around by his staff, rather than the guy who is leading his staff around. Again, academically, I know he's the President of the United States, but deep down, it hasn't sunk in yet. So the question I pose rhetorically is, I wonder what he will say or do, or when it will be that I will get the deeper sense that he is the President of the United States?

This question I pose to myself can open up many cans of worms: 1) commentary from others on President Bush (both favorable and unfavorable); 2) commentary on President Obama (again, on both sides); and 3) discerning within myself as to whether my vote for George Bush put my mind in a position to view President Bush as "the man" sooner than I otherwise might; and, on flip side, whether my vote for the other guy (and not in favor of Barack Obama) will delay (if not altogether prevent) a sense that President Obama has filled the mantle of the Presidency.

While I'm always interested in in-person commentary on issues like the first 2 questions (and less so in folks waging war with each other on my FB page about something tangentially related to the point of what I wrote), I'm more interested in the last question posed here: Can I be intellectually honest and develop a sense that he has become the President whenever it is he does (hard to measure), even while I generally disagree with the decisions he is making as President? I'll let you know when or if it happens....