I can honestly say that, up until late Tuesday night, it had been some time since I was proud to be an American. Many foreign nations are rather angry with the USA over the wars in the Middle East and our bumbling President Dubya. But the fact that Americans elected an African-American (actually, biracial) President less than five decades after integration is flooring, and terrific. Some people aren't so thrilled.
There aren't too many G.W. Bush supporters still around, but the two or three that I've seen are angry that Obama won. The Republican party, in the words of its own members, "is in a shambles." That is a result of eight years of mismanagement by the Bush administration. Was everything Bush did wrong? No. Were many things he did detrimental to the country? Only if you count wars and unfunded education programs and discriminatory legislature. But some people are already whining that they can't wait for January 20, 2013 (when Obama's 1st term would officially end). That's very disrespectful and pessimistic. Really, isn't it more logical to wait and see how your new president performs before judging him or her?
I think that many die-hard Republicans, wealthy individuals, and right-wing reactionaries are those disappointed by Obama's election. I wonder if those people were angry after Bill Clinton's election. It's doubtful that they were complaining by his second term. The only thing criticism that I hear about Clinton is the fact that he cheated on Hilary (not good in terms of character, but still a personal choice) and that he "lied to the American people." (Okay, he claimed that he didn't sleep with Monica Lewinsky, but would YOU admit that on National T.V.?) But Clinton made the country prosper. Foreign relations didn't totally suck, and people generally remember the Clinton years fondly. I can only hope that President Obama will be able to set our nation back on the right track to prosperity.
