Project 365 Day 21 (21/01/09)

TIME FOR HOPE, NOT FEAR
Hope and not fear was the focus of Barack Obama's inauguration speech, and who can't help but be swept up in the excitement of his presidency. A black man elected to head a nation that emerged from slavery 150ish years ago and did away with legally sanctioned segregation only 50 years ago. It's something I never thought to see, and something I'm keen to celebrate and enjoy.


Some of the photos in today's MX magazine.

I admire Barack Obama so much, and hope that the many things he wants to deliver will come to fruition. For the first time in a long time someone is in office, somewhere, who has passion, idealism and the will to build a better and fairer country. But he's only a man and I wonder whether the world is asking too much of him when no other president has delivered one-tenth of anything they promised.

I guess I feel a little concerned when I heard/read that Obama refused to investigate Bush for war crimes. I don't know if this is true or not--I hope not at this early stage. But even if Obama has refused it's possible that others could use the International Criminal Court to pursue Bush, Cheney or even Rumsfeld. However, since the US has never acknowledged the UN or the international courts, except where it suits them such as through the UN Security Council, none of that tribe are likely to be tried or serve a prison sentence.

But Horace and I have often spoke of what punishment Bush might receive for things like the instability in the Middle East and Guantanamo Bay, and to date all I've been able to think of is to be considered the worse President on record. Which seems like a fitting view considering his track record and when it seems like a large part of the reason for his interference in the Middle East was to make up for "Daddy's" lack of success there" a decade earlier.

An outstanding warrant against Bush for war crimes and the message that would send would be a far better punishment for a man who often seemed unable to deliver a coherent sentence. I don't think we "misunderestimate" Bush at all!