Let's Try It This Way...Under What Instances, Is It Okay To Praise The President On DU ???

[Savannahmann]

19. Good start, but we can do better.

Imagine if NASA had launched Alan Sheppard into space, and then said, OK, that's enough, everyone relax. Or if Kennedy had never made the Moon the priority. We finished up Mercury, and we just quit. We stopped there, and never continued on to the Moon.

I feel like we're in the days of Mercury. We're doing some good things, but we can do much better. I want the grand dreams, I want the goal that seems impossible. We are doing good with Mercury, but we can go farther, we can do more. We can go into Gemini. We can go for Apollo. While NASA was pounding each other on the back when Alan Sheppard stepped onto the Carrier after his first flight to the edge of space, they were not resting, they were already planning Gus Grissom's flight, and all the other flights of the Mercury era.

When you achieve something great, it can be the end of a journey, or the beginning of the next journey. NASA didn't end with Apollo when the Apollo 17 capsule splashed down. They did skylab. They did the shuttle. They designed things that are still working today despite all odds to the contrary. Voyager I and II are still moving out of the solar system, the fastest man made objects ever. Because we didn't stand still and quit when it looked like we had accomplished something. There was more to discover, more to do.

Yes Praise the President for his accomplishments by all means. But we shouldn't stop there and say well, we've done enough, time to coast. We should be moving forward, and we should be looking for the next accomplishment, the next challenge. When you stop reaching for the stars, you will never reach the stars. When you stop dreaming of a better world, the world will never get better.

What I take issue with is the Government. The President is the Chief Executive, and directs the general policy and general direction of the Government. Either the DEA is doing what the President believes they should by harassing Marijuana users, or they are not in compliance, and someone who is in charge should be fired. Either the NSA/FBI/CIA/DHS is doing what President Obama wants, or they are not. Again, if they are not, someone should be fired. Yes, he's done some good things, but he only has eight years maximum to accomplish as must as possible. Every day, every single day you have to hit the ground running and striving for more. You have to wake up and know that today, you are going to do everything possible to make this nation, this world, a better place. You are going to keep from making the mistakes of the past, and you are going to end that run knowing you did everything possible and walking from that office with no regrets.

I think in about five years, when we sit down and read our new copies of the President's thoughts on the time he had in the Oval Office, we'll be reading lots of regrets. I think he will blame Congress, and they should get some blame. But the way the Government operates is up to him, and those they appoint.

A friend asked me not too long ago what I would do if I was the President, on the first day. I told him I'd wear out several pens signing pardons for all the people convicted of marijuana in federal courts. The President has that power, and has used it sparingly. Why? Because he doesn't think that people should be pardoned? Or is it because he's afraid of what the Republicans will say about it. Let them try and impeach him for using the power that the Constitution has granted him. He's already polling below 50% on approval, he might as well do what is right, because being careful not to offend is getting him, and us, nowhere.

So yes, I admire and appreciate what the President has done. But I'm like Janet Jackson, what have you done for me lately? I want more, and next week I'm going to want even more. Because there is a lot yet to be done, and Alan Sheppard was only the beginning.