A Little Obama Tale
This is a made up story. Kind of like the morality tales of old.
It had been a long day. First the inaugural and then all of the attendant activities. The balls and parties seemed endless. Before going to bed the new President just had to go sit in the "Big chair". He knew the way. He had been there before but this time he was going not as a visitor but as the President. President Obama. What a cool title. It is easy to see how being President could get you into trouble. Everything you asked for was right here waiting for you. Special food or drink was no problem.
Sitting at the President's desk for the first time he did what everyone does when they sit at "their" desk for the first time. He started to open drawers. They contained all of the paper, pens and pads with his name that he could ever want. There was one thing he had not expected to see. A large manila envelope addressed to him. It was from the previous occupant of the chair George Bush. It had a handwritten note that said "Open this in private and by the way, good luck".
The new President opened the large envelope and it contained 3 smaller envelope. On one envelope was written the instruction: Open during the first national/international emergency. The next envelope read: Open during the second national/international emergency. The third and final envelope said open the day you face your third disaster. Not wishing to tempt fate he put the set of envelopes aside.
Ironically, VP Biden's election campaign speech about President Obama facing a serious challenge early in his presidency came to pass. What it was isn't really relevant. What matters is that when faced with with the first major challenge of his administration he remembered the envelopes he found the first day. Taking out the envelope labeled #1 he tore it open and read it. It said: "Tell them the problems were caused by the guy before you." He sat for couple seconds stunned. He thought about the possible implications. "It couldn't be that simple. You couldn't solve such gigantic problems with such a simple excuse could you?"
He turned to his aide and ordered a news conference. It took a couple of hours but in short order he had gathered reporters and was ready for the announcement. He walked to the podium and waited for everyone in the room to quiet down. He started to speak: "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, my fellow citizens and citizens of the world I am here to explain what is happening and what we are going to do. The long and short of it is that all of this is George Bush's fault. The solution is to ask what George Bush would do and do the opposite. So that is what we must do." He laid out his ant-WWGBD plan. The place went nuts. What insight, what courage. The press reported that we all had to get behind such bold leadership. Around the world he was hailed as the real thing. A leader for the ages.
Things calmed down for a while like they always do. And, like things always do another disaster reared it's ugly head. Some of the polish had worn off his image and he needed a bit of rehabilitation. He opened the second envelope. Time for another news conference. Time for another pronouncement: "This challenge comes to us because of choices I made when I was new to the Presidency. I thought my choices would work because they were not what George Bush would do if he were in power. Opps. It is obvious that I was wrong. We didn't know it then but we must have mistakenly done what George Bush would have done after all. Well that will change starting right now. I promise that in the future I will consult with the finest minds to help determine what George Bush would really have done. We can then be assured we are following the right route by doing the opposite." Once again the place went crazy. The shouts of "Courage", and "What leadership" rang through the briefing room. It wasn't long before world leaders proclaimed unity with the US in it's change of direction away from the new failed Bush policies. Once again the world had been restored to it's proper balance.
Somewhere in the world that balance once again started to tip. An evil was starting to rise. In the past, without the unity brought by President Obama's intelligence and leadership of change, this new challenge would have fractured us and caused such disruption that future generations would face the bleakest of choices. With the problems looming President Obama turned to the last envelope. He slid it out of the desk drawer. Opening it he prayed it would once again give him a solution. A way to save his Presidency from the trash bin of history. The world was waiting for the leader, "The One" to tell them what to do. He slowly unfolded the paper. The third message was simple and easy to follow. It said: "Take out 3 envelopes."
It had been a long day. First the inaugural and then all of the attendant activities. The balls and parties seemed endless. Before going to bed the new President just had to go sit in the "Big chair". He knew the way. He had been there before but this time he was going not as a visitor but as the President. President Obama. What a cool title. It is easy to see how being President could get you into trouble. Everything you asked for was right here waiting for you. Special food or drink was no problem.
Sitting at the President's desk for the first time he did what everyone does when they sit at "their" desk for the first time. He started to open drawers. They contained all of the paper, pens and pads with his name that he could ever want. There was one thing he had not expected to see. A large manila envelope addressed to him. It was from the previous occupant of the chair George Bush. It had a handwritten note that said "Open this in private and by the way, good luck".
The new President opened the large envelope and it contained 3 smaller envelope. On one envelope was written the instruction: Open during the first national/international emergency. The next envelope read: Open during the second national/international emergency. The third and final envelope said open the day you face your third disaster. Not wishing to tempt fate he put the set of envelopes aside.
Ironically, VP Biden's election campaign speech about President Obama facing a serious challenge early in his presidency came to pass. What it was isn't really relevant. What matters is that when faced with with the first major challenge of his administration he remembered the envelopes he found the first day. Taking out the envelope labeled #1 he tore it open and read it. It said: "Tell them the problems were caused by the guy before you." He sat for couple seconds stunned. He thought about the possible implications. "It couldn't be that simple. You couldn't solve such gigantic problems with such a simple excuse could you?"
He turned to his aide and ordered a news conference. It took a couple of hours but in short order he had gathered reporters and was ready for the announcement. He walked to the podium and waited for everyone in the room to quiet down. He started to speak: "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, my fellow citizens and citizens of the world I am here to explain what is happening and what we are going to do. The long and short of it is that all of this is George Bush's fault. The solution is to ask what George Bush would do and do the opposite. So that is what we must do." He laid out his ant-WWGBD plan. The place went nuts. What insight, what courage. The press reported that we all had to get behind such bold leadership. Around the world he was hailed as the real thing. A leader for the ages.
Things calmed down for a while like they always do. And, like things always do another disaster reared it's ugly head. Some of the polish had worn off his image and he needed a bit of rehabilitation. He opened the second envelope. Time for another news conference. Time for another pronouncement: "This challenge comes to us because of choices I made when I was new to the Presidency. I thought my choices would work because they were not what George Bush would do if he were in power. Opps. It is obvious that I was wrong. We didn't know it then but we must have mistakenly done what George Bush would have done after all. Well that will change starting right now. I promise that in the future I will consult with the finest minds to help determine what George Bush would really have done. We can then be assured we are following the right route by doing the opposite." Once again the place went crazy. The shouts of "Courage", and "What leadership" rang through the briefing room. It wasn't long before world leaders proclaimed unity with the US in it's change of direction away from the new failed Bush policies. Once again the world had been restored to it's proper balance.
Somewhere in the world that balance once again started to tip. An evil was starting to rise. In the past, without the unity brought by President Obama's intelligence and leadership of change, this new challenge would have fractured us and caused such disruption that future generations would face the bleakest of choices. With the problems looming President Obama turned to the last envelope. He slid it out of the desk drawer. Opening it he prayed it would once again give him a solution. A way to save his Presidency from the trash bin of history. The world was waiting for the leader, "The One" to tell them what to do. He slowly unfolded the paper. The third message was simple and easy to follow. It said: "Take out 3 envelopes."
posted by Trusting Soul at
1:40 PM
0 Comments
