I really don’t know what to make of Barack Obama. He ran on a vague campaign of change: the change you can believe in. His campaign lacked details, and the few things he did provide details on (binary choices like: will he close the prison in Guantanamo Bay? Will he speak directly with Iran without preconditions? Will he remove the Bush tax cuts? Will he move to renegotiate NAFTA?) he has changed his mind on, sometimes the very next day. It seems to me more like he ran on “the change you can imagine” — he was everything to everyone. Whatever you didn’t like about the country, you could see Obama changing it. That is a very appealing idea and explains his broad support from people from a variety of demographic groups.

What I don’t understand now is how the people who elected him are still so happy with him given that he’s gone back on his word about a lot of things. He promised a clean start, and then hires anyone and everyone who worked in the Clinton Administration. He promised to repeal the Bush tax cuts “for the rich” and then says maybe he’ll just let them expire. I don’t know whether I should be happy that he’s going back on his word (away from things I didn’t like in the first place) or upset that our new president so easily makes promises and breaks them when politically expedient to do so. (Remember his promise to use public financing for his campaign? That went out the door when he realized he could get more money by opting out.)

Don’t get me wrong — I’m not calling him a liar. Perhaps he just made mistakes by speaking too quickly (although it would be helpful if he admitted one mistake, which he never will — reminds me a little of GWB…) In fact, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that in the upcoming years, when he changes his mind on things, he will be doing what he feels is the right thing. But he will be breaking his promises. This is, however, nothing new for presidents. George H.W. Bush said he would not raise taxes and then later thought it was the appropriate thing to do, and it probably cost him re-election. Clinton promised a middle class tax cut and ended up raising taxes on the middle class. George W. Bush said he would not use our military for nation-building, then proceeded to do just that in Iraq. What promises will Obama break? We’ll have to wait and see. He’ll break some, no question. Will his supporters call him out on it? Will the media? In my mind, THAT is the big question.

(One more thing about letting the Bush tax cuts just expire instead of repealing them right away. In the campaign, Obama said that repealing the tax cuts was the right thing to do for the economy. He told Joe the Plumber that he thinks the economy works better when we spread the wealth around a little bit. OK, if that’s true, then shouldn’t a downturn in the economy mean we should spread the wealth even faster? Saying that the economy is bad, so we’re not going to raise taxes on rich people right now implies that you know raising taxes on rich people is bad for the economy. So why not be honest about it in the first place? Why lie and say that you actually think it’s good for the economy to raise taxes on the rich when your actions imply precisely the opposite? Because that would make people who don’t know enough about economics question your policy; this way, you don’t have to deal with the harsh reality of opportunity costs.)

I don’t want to end this on a down note. I’m proud that we have elected a black man to our highest office. I wish it were Thomas Sowell or Walter Williams, whose economic policies I generally agree with, but I’m not so partisan that I can’t appreciate good things about Obama’s election. It shows the world that the U.S. doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to the American Dream. It shows that anything really is possible in the United States, and that’s definitely a good thing.

And I have to give Obama credit in one very important area. He said we’re not red states and blue states. He said he wanted to bring the country together. And he’s actually trying to do that, in my estimation. He invited Rick Warren to give his invocation, even though he knew that many in his base oppose Warren as a crazy Christian who hates gay people. He sat down and had dinner with about a dozen influential conservative columnists –  and strangely was skewered for it by some on the left (how dare he even TALK to those people? They’re evil, aren’t they?); tolerance anyone? He has not turned his back on some far-left groups now that he is president, as the right-wing would hope. With so many of his actions, Obama is saying “I don’t care who you voted for. I don’t care what you think about a particular issue. You’re all Americans and I welcome all of you into the discussion.”

I only wish the rest of us would listen to that message. Your neighbor may not agree with you on abortion or gay rights or tax policy. But they are your neighbor and they are an American and they should be treated with respect. You may not agree with them, but that should not shut them out of the discussion. I hate the word tolerance, especially since so many people who call others intolerant are not tolerant themselves. (Don’t think so? Explain to me how gay people who oppose Warren for not being tolerant are not being intolerant by saying Obama should not have him participate in the inauguration.) Tolerance is what you do when you hate your roommate but know you have to live with them for the next year. Tolerance is what you do to the annoying person in the front of the class who asks stupid questions all the time and doesn’t realize he’s (it’s usually a guy) dominating the classroom discussion and wasting everyone else’s time. How about acceptance instead of tolerance? How about understanding that they feel and think differently than you, but they have value as a human being and have their own things they’re going through that have shaped their philosophy. You may not agree with it, but you haven’t walked in their shoes. Let’s try a little acceptance in this country.

I wish Obama well. I hope he continues to move to the center, as he has done with many of his appointments to his cabinet. I hope he really tries to unite us. More than that, I hope we follow his lead and return to civil discourse and working together to solve our problems.

Update: That was a very good inaugural speech. I especially liked the part where he said that if a government program was not working, he’d cut it. I think he’s working to earn political clout with the population as a whole, and succeeding at it, so that when partisan bickering occurs in the House and Senate he can step in and tell them to do what he wants them to do, and they’ll look like they’re opposing the will of the people if they don’t comply.