Common cents and the day after

Today as I sit in my office I am both overjoyed and still in a daze concerning the historical election. Overjoyed because of the overwhelming voter response for the primary election and dazed by the actuality that the majority of eligible voters put aside their differences and voted for the next President based on what I believe to be common sense (there’s that word again), sound judgment, substance and the overall character of the individual. The nation decided to move forward versus looking back. I have always been proud of the United States but I have never been prouder than I am right now. What this election represents is a paradigm shift in the way we as a nation think. It represents that the majority of us are starting to realize that we are all the same once you get past the pigment or lack of pigment in our skin. It is also moving to realize as I am sure many others have thought that they are actually alive to see an African American as President and that he was elected because mainstream America is in agreement with all other ethnic minorities and put him in office. We should all pause and make it a point to realize the consequences of our actions and be extremely proud of the statement we made to the world.

That being said….what do we do the day, week and year after we have elected the first African American as President of the United States and what do we demand of him, after all he is the “Commander in Chief?

Here are my suggestions for President Barack Obama:

1. Get to work immediately on putting together a better health care plan. One that makes sense for all citizens regardless of economic status and one that is truly affordable. Make sure that insurance companies provide services and are not just in business of generating huge profits. I say this because right now most insurance companies are in the business of identifying and avoiding providing coverage to those who are in the most need of health care as a business model.

2. Get to work on mandating the big oil companies to do more with the profits they make like subsidizing alternative energy, creating cleaner fuel products and community development. Why can’t they make a bigger contribution to society since they are presently making record billion dollar profits!

3. Solve the mortgage crises. When people lose there homes, they are most often losing there biggest and sometimes their only real long term investment. In other words, when people lose their homes they are also losing their hope (faith) that they can do better in today’s society. All dreams start with hope so please allow those who have homes an opportunity to maintain their dignity and find a way for those that are willing to be homeowners to remain homeowners!
Finally, look at the resources available for those that have been affected by unemployment. There are a lot of good men and women that have been affected by job loss. If you look at items 1, 2 & 3 you will see that all these issues are contributing to the overall platform that you ran on and pledged to fix.

President Elect Obama, I believe you are the most talented, intelligent, articulate and eloquent world leader that I have ever seen (and you have not even been inaugurated yet). I also believe that you will deliver on your platform promises of restoring hope and dignity to the people of this nation. I know it will not be easy but I am sure you knew that as now you will have at least four years of the CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS experience….you will discover AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!