by Vicki Brown

Created on: January 21, 2009   Last Updated: May 31, 2010

Dear President Obama,

I watched the graduation at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point this past Saturday. You said to the graduates, “Along the way, I'm sure you faced a few moments when you asked yourself: "What am I doing here?" I have those moments sometimes.”

You must often wonder why you wanted to be president. You inherited two unpopular wars that weren’t going well, a record deficit, an economy teetering on the brink, and many more challenges left by the previous administration.

And then if things were bad enough, the Republicans decided to act like two year-olds who had their tricycle taken away. You promised to reach across the aisle during your campaign. You did right from the beginning. It’s not your fault the Republicans didn’t reach out and take your hand.

But whom did the media blame? Why you of course. You had made the promise and hadn’t come through. The Democrats can reach across the aisle until the cows come home but if the Republicans sit on their hands how can we have anything remotely resembling bi-partisanship?

You seem to have endless energy. You go all over the country telling Americans what you want to change and you invite them to make the trip with you. You know all too well that nothing in this country can change unless every American is willing to make those changes.

We’ve become a nation of greedy whiners. Michael Douglas said, “Greed is good.” And we all jumped on that idea. And not just corporate America but every citizen from the Atlantic to the Pacific rewrote the American Dream.

A house in the suburbs with good schools, a car or two in the garage and food on the table was no longer enough. Our needs had been met long ago and our wants were now needs.

Not just a house now it’s a McMansion with three cars, an SUV, a minivan, and a pricey sedan. Going to a nearby lake for a camping trip is no longer an acceptable vacation. Only resorts in Mexico or the Caribbean or a cruise qualify as a vacation. My husband and I and our three kids went on a cruise. We were going non-stop. By the time we got home we needed a vacation.

We seem to have a national case of multiple personalities. When there is an oil spill or hurricane we cry out for the Federal government to ride to the rescue. You don’t act fast enough. What exactly are you supposed to do? Put on your scuba gear go down there and plug the hole?

But when it comes to health care, we want the government to stay

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