We are going to have to live with him for at least four years, so I've been looking for things to like about Obama.

I could mope and get spiteful and bitter, but that's not going to do me any good. I walked around mad for the last six years of Bill Clinton's administration simply because I thought he was an awful president. Even worse than Dubya. I don't want to do that with this guy. I want to find things to like about him, even if only for my own positive mental health and to prevent ulcers.

I'm not going to put on any rose-colored glasses, but I am going to look for the good in the guy. Here's what I've got so far:

• "Change you can believe in" turned out to really mean "more of the same." That's not necessarily a good thing, but at least it isn't radical risk-taking.
  
  Pete Townshend said it best: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."
  
  So hopefully all the young liberals who voted for Obama to bring about "change" will take note. Nothing substantial ever changes in Washington. The only change Obama has brought to the White House is superficial.
  
  Some people are wondering if Obama might be a "closet conservative." It's too soon to conclude that ... but at least he's not quite as naive as I thought he was. So that's good.
  
  Why do politicians always mean the exact opposite of what they say? George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" was actually a code phrase for "irresponsible liberalism." And it looks like "change we can believe in" actually meant "stick with the people you're sick of."
  
  
• Turns out he's not the sleaziest politician in Illinois. And the Blago scandal hasn't turned up any dirt on Obama at all. Good for the President-Elect.
  
  You know, I like the idea that maybe the Obama team was working with the Feds on the Blagojevich bust. Maybe they squealed on the guy. If so, they did the right thing.



• I think Barack is more honest and less smarmy than Bill Clinton. Obviously he's a much better speaker and a less muddled thinker than George W. Bush, and he's far prettier than the first President Bush. So for the first time since Reagan, when I watch the President give speeches, I won't be squirming for aesthetic reasons. I will likely squirm for other reasons (policy), but not because of the presentation.

Yeah, these are mostly superficial things. My policy problems with Barack Obama still far outweigh my trivial compliments. Still, it's nice that there are a few good things apparent about the guy.

Labels: News, Obama Watch, Politics