A time for goodbye

2918 days ago, George W. Bush became our President. Last night he addressed the nation to say goodbye. He delivered his farewell speech from the East Room of the White House, unlike President’s of the past Clinton, Reagan and Carter who spoke from the Oval Office.

I enjoyed the speech. In my opinion he showed his true character with his words. I had not thought of George W. Bush’s character before last night in much detail although I did believe strongly in his father George H.W. Bush.

He said it has been his honor to be our President for the last eight years. And he passed on his best wishes to Barack Obama who will be sworn in as our acting President in five days. He expressed his gratitude to Vice President Dick Chaney, his wife Laura Bush, his parents and the American people.

He spoke of September 11, 2001, the day our nation was changed forever by terrorists. He called the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 heroes. Terrorists planned to use that plane to further injure the American people. The passengers on that flight became aware of the situation and mounted an assault against the hijackers causing the plane to crash not where the terrorists had planned but in a field in Pennsylvania 150 miles west of the White House. All 44 people on board, including the hijackers, were killed.

He spoke of Arlene Howard, the mother of New York officer George Howard who left the safety of his home to aid the people trapped after the collapse of the World Trade Center only to be crushed under the building as it further crumbled. Arlene gave President Bush her sons badge in his honor. He still carries it with him today.

He also spoke of 60 year old Bill Krissoff. Bill’s son Lieutenant Nathan Krissoff was killed in Iraq. He wanted to honor his son’s sacrifice for our country so he attempted to join the Navy Medical Corps. He was over the age limit but never gave up and he was eventually enlisted. He is now in Iraq aiding the men and women that are injured while fighting for us.

President Bush ended his speech with God. I love that. These days people are so scared to allow God into anything government. Separation of church and state and all that. I just think it’s a bunch of malarkey. It even says ‘In God We Trust’ on our money. I for one am pleased that he chose to ignore 'political correctness'.

His final words were “God bless this House, the next President, You and our Country”. I say Amen.

A little history of the man who's made history

How much do you know about our new president? I'd like to share a little Obama history with you...

Barack Obama was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was a foreign student from Kenya at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His parents divorced when he was two and he only saw his father once more before he died in a car accident in 1982. His mother was from Wichita, Kansas. After divorcing his father she remarried and they moved to Indonesia in 1967. She passed away from ovarian cancer in 1995.

When Barack was 10 years old, he moved back to Hawaii and lived with his grandparents until completing high school. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1983 with a BA in political science specializing in international relations. He then attended Harvard Law School beginning in 1988, graduating in 1990 magna cum laude.

He continued in politics securing a spot in the state legislator from 1997-2004. On January 4, 2005 he was sworn in as a senator. He made history then as the 5th African American Senator and he made history last night as the 1st African American President of the United States.

How he performs as president will have to wait to be seen. I personally am hoping that he can do all he has promised to do. I believe this country needs a strong leader with fresh ideas. And I believe Barack Obama may just be that man.