Obama's first address

I had been looking forward to President Obama's first address to the joint session of Congress. While I generally support his position on a wide variety of issues, I have some real concerns about the stimulus bill, the mortgage strategy, and the bank bail-out. That being said, I remain very impressed with the team the Obama has assembled, and with his thoughtful and methodical processes, and I was looking forward to hearing the rationale behind his recent initiatives.

I was not disappointed. I thought Obama was very effective in laying out both the roots of the economic crisis, and what he thinks needs to be done to address it. He spoke in layman's terms about what caused the credit crisis, how it affects the average American, and why his bank and mortgage bailouts will help. After years of hearing platitudes from Bush, it was refreshing to get our President's honest perspective. He avoided fire-and-brimstone talk, and was able to keep the tone generally optimistic without being dismissive. Whether you agree or disagree with his plans, I think it's fair to say that he told the nation where he is coming from. I sincerely hope his strategy works swimmingly. By openly sharing his rationale, I think he's earned the country's cooperation and patience in making it happen.