Dear President Obama,
As much as it pains me to admit it, Sarah Palin may have been right about one thing (but really, only one thing): this hope-y, change-y stuff isn't working out too well for us.
Your sweeping, poetic campaign platform of political reform and investment in the American people could have altered the fabric of the country, as difficult as it may have been to implement and as idealistic as it was.
So it wasn't the hope and the change that didn't work out. It was the fact that you abandoned your guiding principles.
I turned 18 in 2007, so your election in 2008 was my first personal experience with the ballot box.
When you were elected, the fact that my vote was a miniscule part of the appointment of the first African-American president in history made my decision seem profound. Idealistic? Absolutely. Misguided? Not until later.
Your inauguration was held on a supremely cold and damp day, eight metro stops from my house. I emailed my professors and informed them I would be missing the first two classes of the spring semester to attend.
My friends and I wore long johns and wool socks, knitted caps and our heaviest coats, and headed to D.C. at 4 a.m. to see the event. You wouldn't make your appearance for hours.
The atmosphere was unreal. In a town with little camaraderie and high ambition, I have never experienced Washington, D.C. as I did that day: warm (despite the actual temperature), convivial and enthusiastic.
I saw groups dancing and singing, talking to people, climbing trees; the National Mall, seen through my unjaded eyes, seemed indicative of the possibilities to come.
I shouldn't blame you, really. At least not entirely.
We expected more from you because you promised more to us, but that's not how the political system works and we should have taken note of that.
You pledged within the first week of your presidency to close Guantanamo—an unfulfilled assurance that represents the rest of your term thus far.
But your colleagues in Congress quickly became self-proclaimed enemies, unwilling to compromise reasonably on anything from health care to the debt ceiling.
The debt ceiling, President Obama! I know you were appalled at the behavior of the Tea Party and their leadership in Congress.
But here is a point of contention: At the end of 2010, why did you extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans at a time when the average American was still dealing with the effects of sub-prime mortgages and extraordinarily high rates of unemployment?
It was incongruous with the platform upon which you ran, the tenets of your base and your subsequent arguments with conservative leaders.
I hope, for the sake of your 2012 election campaign, that you have another plan to galvanize voters.
As of right now, I see you as the most appealing among a whole bunch of evils: Michelle Bachmann and her homophobic ideas terrify me; Rick Perry, with his national day of Pray-America's-Problems-Away is in a league of crazy all his own; Mitt Romney is out of touch (sorry sir, just because you are technically "unemployed" does not mean you understand the financial difficulties of most Americans without jobs); John Huntsman, the only candidate I would consider viable, has been largely dismissed, as has Ron Paul and his second-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll.
Congratulations, you're the best house on a terrible block.
Your most recent indiscretion, however, will last far beyond the meager boundaries of your first term.
Your decision to approve the Tar Sands pipeline that will stretch from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico, can only further tarnish your already rusting administration.
Bending to pressure from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, you have disrupted the boreal forests of Canada with a destructive and costly plan, in order to partially release the United States from its dependence on foreign oil.
I could discuss the importance of lessening American dependence on all non-renewable resources, not just foreign ones, but I know you've heard it before, because you've discussed it yourself. I can only assume you decided to ignore your own values.
I'm sorry if I sound world-weary, President Obama. I think you're brilliant, very charismatic, and have a beautiful family. Even though you've disappointed me, I might say I'm still hopeful.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Hurwit