gimmicky. I thought once the election was over he would put aside the
gimmicks. Apparently, I was wrong:
PHILADELPHIA – President-elect Barack Obama, tracing the train
route Abraham Lincoln took nearly a century and a half earlier, undertook
the final leg of his inaugural journey to the nation's capital Saturday,
pledging to reclaim America's spirit but also warning of steep challenges
facing the country.
"Starting now, let's take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our
union," he told several hundred people gathered inside a hall at
Philadelphia's historic 30th Street train station. "Let's build a government
that is responsible to the people and accept our own responsibilities
as citizens to hold our government accountable. ... Let's make sure
this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the
beginning and the hope for the future."
While talking about the future, Obama reflected on the past, echoing
the words of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln and President
John F. Kennedy. He cited the founding fathers who risked everything
with no assurance of success in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776:
"They were willing to put all they were and all they had on the line — their
lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor — for a set of ideals that continue
to light the world: That we are equal. That our rights to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness come not from our laws, but from our maker. And that
a government of, by, and for the people can endure."
Video:
There was only one Lincoln and if President-elect Obama wants be seen as good
leader he has to strive to be Barack Obama and no one else. Lincoln didn't try to
emulate anyone else and neither did any of our great presidents for that matter.
So enough with the Lincoln, JFK, or FDR comparisons already, President-elect
Barack Obama. Just do a good job and let history write itself.
