You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

There was an evident extra hop in his step on Tuesday. Eight years ago, he had a gleam in his eye that would change the world and right the wrongs of the previous boss. He would bring morality and respect back to the chain of command. Little did he know that his dreams, goals and agenda would all come falling down in less than nine months. It fell into a piling heap of metal and ash on a warm September morning in New York City. Quickly, he had to adapt. Quickly, he had to steer a country that had no experience in this kind of recovery. Two twin towers, two different warsites, major hurricanes that tore apart American cities and a self-destructive economy later, you could see the wear and tear in his eyes. It can be debated that these last eight years were the toughest that any leader would have to go through. He went through the formailities of the passing of the baton like almost every other leader before him did, and after it was over with wife by his side, he stepped up on to a helicopter that would take him away. Like a child going home after a long week at camp that knew he was going to sleep in his bed for the first time in a long time, he seemed at ease knowing that his job was done. The country, according to the approval ratings, had turned its back on him in these final months. As his helicopter soared over the city one last time, he may have said, "Goodbye" in his Texas drawl or, at least he may have uttered, "Good riddance." He knows that the person who is now receiving the baton has a large challenge for him.

You would think that he has this feeling that he's come in to take care of the old mess. There are so many pieces to the puzzle that have to be put back together again. For the moment, issues of gay rights, abortion and those things that have been debated for so many years are being set to the side. Jobs are being lost, major American companies are sinking, millions of dollars are being thrown around by professional athletes and organizations while a very large percentage of the country struggles to pay the electric bill. Those are todays issues and on Tuesday, he looked surprisingly calm. His focus was there as if he had been pre-warned about all this; like someone slipped him the answers to the SAT right before the test. Yes, it's going to be a challenge and we can officially begin talking the talk. He said hello to his new group of followers. He stood there with his wife and two young children. There hasn't been this much excitement of a young hero leading our country since 1960. After all, this time the decision was definite. There was no questioning the popular vote, no hanging chads and no last second party bashing. As he stood to address the nation, he saw close to 2 million faces there waiting to cheer him on and support him. No other leader had seen that kind of response on his first day on the job. His head held high hoping that the next eight years would be different than the last.

This is a tale of two men. George Bush said goodbye and Barack Obama said hello on Tuesday. They shared the same stage for only a little while and exchanged handshakes and hugs before George and Laura, now private American citizens, made their way back home to Texas. If only we could go back to January of 2001 and let him know what was ahead. That's the great thing about life and leadership. It gives you opportunities and it also takes away. Time will tell if the American people are as excited in January 2013 as they are now. We will continue to move on and, as always, pray.