Welcome Mr. President - 2017!

Welcome Mr. President - 2017!

© David Burton 2017

Donald Trump
 

     Well, the elections are over and tomorrow Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of these United States of America.

     Mr. President, I didn't support your candidacy and I didn't vote for you. BUT, you are now the president of the United States and you are now my president. I sincerely wish you success. The time for opposition is over.

     Some eight years ago, I also didn’t vote for your predecessor, but following his election, I also congratulated him, welcomed him as my president and wished him well. (Ref. 301) In the American way, let me welcome you to the office of the presidency in the same vein.

     Welcome Mr. President!

     The bitterness that invariably occurs in a hard fought political campaign should now end. Your opponent, Hilary Clinton, lost and it's time for her supporters and your opponents to join ranks with the nearly 69 million American who voted for you. The rules for our elections are clear – whoever gets the most votes in the electoral college wins the election – and you undeniably obtained the larger number of votes in the electoral college. End of discussion! The losers need to stop their crying and acting like spoiled brats. Get over it and move on. If, after the next four years, you are unhappy, you’ll get another chance to elect your favorite. It is now time for all of us to get behind you and to help to move this great country in which we live forward. There is no room or time for pettiness and vindictiveness which all too often take place in other countries around the globe following a transition of political power.

      Mr President, while I welcome you to the office of the presidency and promise to support you for at least the next four years, I still reserve my right to offer my suggestions, to applaud your decisions that I support, and to criticize your decisions and actions which I think are wrong. While I may criticize you actions and behavior in the future, the fact remains that there can be only one leader – you. Your decisions are final – if and until they are changed or rejected by the other 2 branches of our government or by your successor(s).

      Here are some of the actions that I hope you will be taking during your term(s) in office.

     Let’s get a health care program to replace Obamacare – one that makes sense, is affordable and meets the needs the real needs of the people. Obamacare is simply an abomination! Coverage for catastrophic illness -yes. Health care for those who otherwise couldn’t afford it - yes! Reimbursement for essentially all medical expenses – no! People need to pay for some of their medical care costs. Otherwise, there is no incentive to avoid unnecessary care or medications. Cost and care must be balanced. One size fits all – no! Don’t try to do it all at once – that’s why Obamacare is such a disaster. Learn as you go.

     Mr. President, reverse the trend that has weakened our military. Make our military once again the strongest in the world.

     Mr. President, restore the close relations with Israel. Reverse the perverse policies of the past administration of trying to force Israel to concede to every demand of the Palestinian leadership that only wants a Jew-free Palestine and the expulsion of all Jews from the Middle East. Make clear to the Palestinian leadership that they must concede to achieve peace just as the Israelis have offered very generous concessions in the past. Make sure they understand that the longer they refuse to negotiate in good faith, the less they will attain in the future.

     Mr. President, eliminate the bureaucracy and red tape that hinders American businesses, particularly small business. Make government more efficient. Put the brakes on the EPA and \the onerous rules and regulations that they are trying to force down the throats of Americans. It is costing us all untold billions of dollars.

     Mr. President, step up America’s involvement in the war on radical Islamic extremism. Let’s help the word eliminate the curse of these animals who cut off people's heads, murder innocent civilians, and turn their own children into suicidal terrorists. No quarter! These Islamic jihadist are not signatories of the Geneva conventions and certainly do not fight by any civilized rules of war. Such creatures do not deserve to be treated with kindness. They need to be exterminated and their form of hatred and terror destroyed forever. The terrorists have chosen the rules they fight by - we should fight back with the same rules. This is not the time to bow down to the bleeding hearts of the world.

     Mr. President, we need to get serious about reducing America’s indebtedness, some $19 trillion, bequeathed to us by the outgoing administration. We need to turn annual debt spending into annual surpluses. This means eliminating unnecessary spending and increasing taxes. Part of this process requires a major simplification of our federal tax system. Today our tax laws are unfair, incomprehensible, and unnecessary. We tax American businesses at the highest rates in the world and burden them with incomprehensible rules and regulations that requires wasteful batteries of lawyers and accountants to bring them into compliance. Make American business more competitive and see how tax revenues rise.

     Mr. President, we need to reverse the trend in America of becoming a nation of “us vs. them”. Too often today, it’s “those who produce vs. those who take”, "the rich vs. the poor”, “the 1% vs. the other 99%”, “Blacks, vs. Whites”, "the haves vs. the have-nots", etc. This type of conflict benefits no one and hurts us all. Presidential leadership can do much to address this ongoing problem.

     Mr. President, our American form of government divides power among three branches – executive, legislative and judicial. I would hope and expect that you would work cooperatively with the other two branches of government to achieve results that are beneficial to all citizens of these United States. In the same vein, I would hope and expect that you will listen to the voices of the “loyal opposition”.

     Mr. President, it’s time to reconsider our relationship to the United Nations. The U.N. is not the unbiased organization of nations that was supposed to treat all nations impartially, to foster world peace, and to provide a venue for equal justice and resolution of disputes. Should the United States continue to be the main financial contributor to this organization?

     Mr. President, perhaps the most important thing you can accomplish is to, once again, have America assume its leadership role in the world. Leading from behind is not an option! Please, say what you mean on the world stage and mean what you say. Let our friends and allies know that they can count on America to truly protect their backs. Without hesitation, we will be there when they need us. On the other side, let our enemies know that we will back up our promises and committments with action when necessary.

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References:

  1. Welcome Mr. President!, David Burton, sonofeliyahu.com; Article 55 , 24 January 2009.

 
  19 January 2017 {Article 280; Politics_34}    
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