It's a great day for our country as we once again complete a peaceful transfer of power to our new chief executive, President Barack Obama. It also marks a time I wasn't sure I would see in my lifetime (and I'm not that old) - the inauguration of the first African-American President. Regardless of party or ideology, today is a day for all to be proud of the United States of America as we again show the rest of the world what democracy is all about. I don't think that something like this is possible anywhere else in the world at this moment in history.
President Obama has quite a task ahead of him with two wars and the worst economic crises we have seen since the Great Depression. Following a very well-run campaign and transition, I'm confident he will be up to the task. Nevertheless, no matter what he and our other leaders do, I believe we have a long hard road ahead of us to pull out of a devastating economic slump. Things aren't going to change overnight for our economy I'm afraid.
But it is still a time for optimism and new ideas in Washington and I want to wish President Obama best of luck over the next four years.
On a related note, our Governor Janet Napolitano was confirmed by the U.S. Senate today as the new Secretary of Homeland Security and will be resigning her position as Arizona Governor shortly. Secretary of State Jan Brewer will inherit the position of Arizona Governor tomorrow. She and the Arizona Legislature will have some very tough choices to make in dealing with a massive budget deficit - a problem shared by many states. I want to wish her the best of luck as well figuring out how to balance the needs of the state versus our severe budget crunch.
Comments