An Open Letter to Senator Barack Obama

Dear Senator Obama;
First off, let me say that I hope this note finds you and Mrs. Obama well. The both of you are in our prayers. I am grateful for your campaign for the Presidency. But I anguish now for our country.

I entered the first grade in Union City, Tennessee, in the fall of 1967. My first-grade class was Tennessee's first first-grade class that was entirely integrated. As a white male, born and reared in the Deep South, I can confidently state that racism is alive and well. America has made great strides toward social justice, but there is still a vast chasm arising from the fears associated with "others", people who are different from one another.

Thankfully, your campaign for the Presidency has highlighted the genuine progress that has been made toward racial equality in our land. You exude confidence, a sense of well being, and generosity of spirit. It is my hope that you will maintain your bearing, your dignity, and your sense of grace toward those around you.

There is much that needs to be changed about how our nation's government is operated. What we don't need is another four years (or eight) of Whitewater and Vince Foster, of Halliburton and Black Water. This sort of bitterness could well get John McCain elected to the Presidency in your stead.

On the other hand, you are preaching change. It is my hope and my plea that your entry into the White House will bear some very specific fruit. Should you be so fortunate as to find yourself newly elected on November 5th, for God's sake, don't screw this up! America has needed greatness from her President these past eight years, greatness that George W. Bush was incapable of producing. His administration will leaves scars for a very, very long time. Take notice of the job at hand.

First and foremost, our next President needs to bring our troops home from the phony war in Iraq. The effusion of blood wrought by George W. Bush and his henchmen has left a stain that may never wash from America's fabric. As an honorably discharged Marine Corps veteran, I have a very narrow view of how the blood of America's service men and women should be spent. Their lives are today wasted on a lie. It is past time for this crime against the world and against America to cease.

Secondly, America deserves a President who will uphold the Constitution and the laws of our land. The present administration is probably the most wicked and lawless that our nation has ever endured - certainly so within my lifetime. Our next President should be prepared and eager to investigate and vigorously prosecute the crimes that have been perpetrated against America's citizens by Bush, Cheney, and Rove. Our civil liberties have been set ablaze, our citizens falsely imprisoned without benefit of a hearing, our military murdered, our treasury emptied, and our good standing among the nations of the world has been tarnished to a point that it might never be reclaimed. The villains responsible for this wickedness should be hunted, hounded, and hanged.

Thirdly, it is criminal that the health care industry can continue to reap exponentially growing profits from an American population who won't universally benefit from their care. America deserves a President who will diligently pursue a legal guarantee of health care to everyone in our land. Without such a guarantee, the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is a lie for all but those with money to buy it.

Fourthly (not finally), America deserves a President who is dedicated to the work of restoring her middle class. The New Deal was a good deal; and we want it back. A middle class that earned its wages from an economy that respected its work force, as taught by organized labor; a middle class that was educated at the expense of public funds; a middle class that became diverse, as the result of civil rights being protected by our government; this same middle class fought and won the Second World War, built our interstate highway system, built Hoover Dam, and put Man on the moon and beyond into outer space. It boot-strapped itself out of one Great Depression, and will apparently have to do so again. America needs her middle class, and America needs to invest to save her middle class. The exporting of industry to foreign shores, without regard for the impact on our own citizenry, looms as perhaps the death knell of the greatness of America.

The change that you promise to deliver as our President sounds wonderful. But you have your work cut out for you. I want to be assured that you really have your eye on the ball for all of us - not just for those who have endeared themselves to your present efforts.

Finally, you and your family will always be welcome in my home, as you are welcome also in my heart. God bless you and yours. I offer my thanks to you for your service and for your campaign. And I leave you with my warmest regards.

The Old Marine