The Job of President: The Job of Americans

There is a certain beauty in doing a job well I have found over the past couple of weeks. Whether you are president of the United States or a cashier at a local Wendy's restaurant--there is a honor that can be taken away from doing a job well and doing it right. Lately I've been working the night shift at Wendy's which is less taking orders and customer interaction and more washing the most disgusting dishes you could imagine until around 1:30 in the morning. Hearing this you wouldn't imagine this to be a great and fabulous job, and you must know: it isn't.

Wanting to do a good job is something that needs to be before you can actually do a good job. One should try and do their best for their own satisfaction but it also takes motivation from others in order to do this effectively. I've had the privelage of working with a manager that motivates me to do well--not by badgering me or any of the sorts, but by having and making clear certain expectations of me. And walking out of the store in the middle of the night, I have that good feeling of a job well done.

I was reading an article in Newsweek this week and it was about the things the President has done right in spite of his 38% approval rating that has sustained for the past 23 months. It told of how the current administration has sort of turned things around after the 2004 election. But this is not justification for the blunders that have cost our country so much money and so much diplomatic damage that it will be very hard for the next Administration to undo as the article seemed to assume.

Now there may be some personal satisfaction for Bush himself in the fact that maybe he turned in the right direction on certain issues like the Iraq war and such, but the surplus that we had cannot be gained back over night and the reputation of the United States cannot be easily redeemed. In my opinion, Bush's presidency is that of failure and come January, I will be rooting for Barack to bring us back to where we need to be.