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I know a lot of people are going to think that I’m happy as can be that Obama won the presidency. After all, I think most have figured out by now that I favored him heavily during the campaign and lean left on most issues. However, as pleased as I am with the outcome of last week’s election, I am also filled with apprehension.

During the past eight years, it’s been easy for me to blame the current President for many of the ills of our nation. Right or wrong, I’ve taken the “blame Bush” route many times in the past for problems our country is facing. Now that a candidate I like is heading to the white house, I have to decide how I am going to respond. I will promise one thing about my attitude towards President-elect Obama. He’s not going to get a free pass from me on anything. I think it is the duty of those who support a candidate’s bid for public office to be the first ones holding them accountable when they make a bad decision, and understand those who oppose said candidate’s reasons for distrust.

I don’t believe that you have to blindly support the President whether he is right or wrong. I certainly did not do that the past two terms, and as much as I might want to be a cheerleader for Barack Obama, it would not be fair or right to do so. I am going to hold this President to a very high standard, expecting him to deliver on the promises made during his campaign. If he does not hold true to the ideals he set forth during his bid for the highest office in the country, I’ll be quick to criticize and even vote against him during his second term.

I will not do what some supporters of President Bush have done to me over the last eight years. So many times I’ve been told that you have to support the president even if you disagree, and I will never tell anyone they have to agree with Obama simply because he is president. One of the great things about our country is the right to dissent, to disagree with the majority, and while I may not agree with someone’s views, I believe they are vital to our sense of balance as a nation. I do not want our democracy to become a mob rule form of government, whether democrats or republicans are in office. All I ask in return is that those that dissent base it on facts rather than rumors. Disagree with policies all you want, but leave the rumors to the message boards. I’ve never thought that Bush is an evil man who hates America, so I ask for that same civility from the right.

We are one nation, one people, and while we have differences that may divide us at times, I want to make clear that I respect the rights of those who disagree with me and celebrate the freedom that allows us all to have a voice.

Philip Gibson

Staff Columnist

philagan@gmail.com