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Dear Fellow Freepers,
Three years ago today, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. He placed his hand on a Bible. Remember when we were all saying he would be sworn in on the Koran? That was one of many things that we as a community got wrong, that seems very silly in retrospect. Let me tell you a few more things that have happened since then.
America is doing extremely well. Our economy is still capitalistic -- more so than it was under Reagan -- but the standard of living for our working class has gone up. The average wage has increased. The upper class is still complaining -- somewhat good-naturedly, actually -- about having to pay more taxes, but most of them agree that it has been worth it.
Needless to say, President Obama did not fill the White House with black people, nor did he hand the government over to terrorists. I honestly don't know why we ever thought otherwise.
Opinion of America has skyrocketed around the world. I still remember the day when President Obama made the televised address to announce that bin Laden had been killed, with the help of our new foreign allies. With the wars over, we have that much more money to balance the budget.
When the Great Quake struck Los Angeles last year, we were prepared. The President did everything right, and despite all the lives that were lost, the President united the country in the aftermath in the same way that Bush did after 9/11. Our sense of patriotism has been renewed, even strengthened.
As for the conservative movement? It is flourishing, actually. Fox News is still doing its thing, as are Rush and Laura, but there's a sense of "loyal opposition," rather than the mindless hatred -- let's not pretend it was anything else -- that we had for the left back in '08. Our role has been less about attacking and obstructing, and more about keeping the President on a leash, keeping him from going too far -- something which, he himself said, he values. He calls us his reality check ("But don't let that go to your head," he added with a chuckle during his H&C appearance). Our firearms are still ours, to the DUmmies' chagrin, and there are even whispers that the NRA will endorse Obama this year, or perhaps decline to endorse a candidate.
The President recently launched his re-election campaign. The Republicans will have their guy, of course, though we don't know yet who it will be. But it doesn't matter; everyone's expecting it to be a 1984-type landslide. Most of us don't really mind. We say we'd prefer a hard-core conservative in the White House, but the truth is that Obama has been nothing short of miraculous during this economic crisis. And yes, the crisis is still ongoing, although it gets better every month.
What I'm trying to say, guys, is this: don't sweat it too much. Yes, you're going to lose, and yes, that's going to hurt quite a lot -- but believe me when I say that it's all going to be okay. For all of us.
Sincerely,
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