by Cherise James

Created on: January 20, 2009

Dear Mr. President:

We, the people of the United States of America, have elected you to do what none of us can do, be in charge of running this country. It is not an easy job. On the good days, we remember that. But bad days are all too common, and criticism comes easily to the tongue on bad days.

You are an elected representative, so we expect you to represent us well. Unfortunately that means your personal life as well as your public life. We may act like we expect you to be perfect. What we actually expect is that you will be everything that we don't take the time and effort to be ourselves. When you represent us, it doesn't mean you should watch the polls like a hawk and run this country according to what we say we want at this moment. Sometimes we are angry (or confused, or misled, ad infinitum), and what we say hasn't been tempered by good sense. Instead we expect you to use sound and reasoned judgment to guide this country well over the long-term. It may not make you popular today, but history will be the ultimate judge of whether you have done well or ill.

Mr. President, we want to feel a swelling of pride when we see your face. Therefore we expect you to behave with dignity and grace, decisiveness and intelligence, poise and wisdom, and show an example of the very best of Americans. Humor is not a bad thing either; if it is in good taste, we will thoroughly enjoy it.

We are tired of being the world police force, Mr. President. While it is true that some threats have to be met head on and fought with everything we have, we expect you to pick and choose which ones to engage with the greatest of care. These are our children, Mr. President, please don't waste their lives. And when you send them out, we expect you to provide them with proper medical care not only on the battlefield, but at home as well. Veterans must be provided with access to artificial limbs, emotional healing, etc. as needed and desired. This isn't a place to cut the budget.

Balance the budget, Mr. President. When I had to tell my teenager that his children would be paying off the debts this country already has, never mind any further ones incurred down the road, he was appalled. So am I. Support legislation to encourage saving, responsible investments, and debt-free living, and make sure you and other elected officials are setting a good example, or at least being held accountable if mistakes are made. This way my grandchildren may be able to live without the burden of crushing debt.

The buck stops at your desk. Regardless of your personal involvement, you will take the credit or the blame for everything that comes from the government during your term. We expect you to stay on top of everything, not by micromanaging, but rather by appointing valuable advisors with the same dignity and grace, decisiveness and intelligence, poise and wisdom that we expect of you. Then we expect you to listen to these advisors, trust them, and act on their guidance and advice. The United States government is set up with checks and balances for very good reasons, so work with them and respect them.

This is a hard charge, Mr. President, and we know it. It doesn't change the fact that these are our expectations. Be what we wish we could be, do what we don't know needs done, live like we think we ought to, and make us proud every day.

In gravity and great respect,

The American People

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