Jon Levine :: Actor, Writer, Director
Cobra Kai, The Gifted, The Food That Built America
You know how when you go out with friends and someone brings a camera, there’s always one person missing from the pictures? Well, I was just at a marketing conference in Las Vegas and saw someone with this crazy cool device that allows you to take pictures without anyone missing from the shot! It’s called the XShot and I bought mine on Amazon (link below) and it’s super cool. To show you how cool, I’ve put together a little video that explains it.
Buy the XShot Camera Extender on Amazon
So, here we are, on the eve of one of the most historic days in American history. For the first time ever in the short life of our country, someone other than a white man will be sworn in as President. For many, myself included, this day couldn’t come quick enough, as we are finally ready to jettison the final remaining bits of the last administration; one that features a President with another historic first: the lowest approval rating of any of his predecessors.
At first, I thought about what would possibly be the legacy of ‘W’: a useless war, a failed economy, a botched response to our nations worst natural disaster, et al. But, while those things hold true, I think that there’s a side to his legacy that many are missing, myself included who, until this morning, really didn’t give it much thought. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that above all, we should be thanking George W. Bush… for it was him who delivered unto us our next President, Barack Obama.
Go with me on this: if ‘W’ wasn’t so bad. If he was just an OK President. If we weren’t in such bad financial shape or mired in a land war that we cannot safely get out of, would the country have rallied around Barack Obama? Had our response to the attacks of September 11th been reasonable and limited to going after the perpetrators or Bush cut short his vacation and flown right to New Orleans to oversee the recovery personally, would the American public be clamoring for change?
I think that, when it comes down to it, George W. Bush was the catalyst. He’s the spark that this country needed to move forward. He gave people the ability to look beyond their petty differences and say to themselves, we need someone smart and capable, regardless of their heritage. I really think that if George W. Bush had been the slightest bit of a good President, someone else would be standing in front of the Capitol Building being sworn in tomorrow and I’m willing to bet, dollars to doughnuts, that it wouldn’t have been a guy with the middle name of Hussein.
So from me, and all of the other Barack Obama supporters, thank you George. We couldn’t have done it without you.
I was given two bits of wisdom by a former boss of mine that I’ve carried with me ever since. One of them, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, I’ve always held to be extremely true.
Now, a team of scientists have actually determined that this is actually the case. A betrayal of trust at the beginning of a relationship is nearly impossible to overcome compared to one that happens after a relationship has been formed.
It’s a very interesting article and you can read it here.
I won’t spoil it with words. For the first time in a long time, we’ve all made the right choice. Thank you.
I was reading an article this morning about how the enthusiasm gap between Obama supporters and McCain supports in monstrous. Of course, if I was supporting McCain, I wouldn’t feel too enthusiastic either, however, that’s not the point of this post.
What really caught my eye was a comment left on the article by one of it’s reader. I’ve always thought of Obama as a smart, well spoken, hopeful and energetic person, but he’s so much more than that. He, as this commenter so eloquently put it, is an embodiment of the American Dream and an inspiration to us all.
Barack Obama is an inspiration to my family and everyone else. Barack Obama’s story is the quintessential American story – born to black immigrant Muslim father, white atheist mom – yet he found Christianity ( I’m not religious, but I still find this commendable in America ), bi-racial, single mom, raised by grandparents – yet, inspite of these odds, he achieved something wonderful, not by quota system or depriving others, but by pulling himself up. There are 2 ways to present yourself to the American people – pull yourself up through extolling your virtues ( Obama style ) or put the other person down as you have nothing to offer ( McCain/Palin style ). Obama has run the cleanest campaign to date and he is an inspiration to all.
We’re immigrants too ( from India ) and find him fascinating. I feel Barack Obama is America.Hence, we will all be firmly behind him as he takes America back to those soaring heights.
Tuesday’s the day when you can make a difference. It’s up to you.
Go Obama!