an open letter to barack obama
dear mr. president-elect,
congratulations on your election. i hope that i speak for all of our listeners at kansas city’s morning news when i say we wish you the best of luck, that we have high hopes for you, that we demand much from the person who sits in the oval office, and that we want you to succeed.
you’ve promised quite a bit and have a rocky road ahead of you. you will deal with the economy, our health and safety, and on occasion, politics too (insert ‘mike shanin rimshot’). and those are just some of the challenges we know about at this point.
you’ve told us there is no liberal america and no conservative america — just the united states of america. you’ve implied as much when it comes to race and the other issues that too often divide us. you’ve talked change and hope. you’ve raised our expectations and tried to temper them too. your candidacy has inspired millions to get involved in a political process we so cherish. and you have tried to give us hope that we can be better, that we will be better in the days and years ahead.
and on the flipside, you have inspired speculation about your political leanings, questions about from where on the spectrum you will actually rule and about whether we ever will actually figure out what you stand for.
we all have political leanings (and just so you know, if you read some of the emails that ellen and i get, we’re more liberal than you supposedly are) but i promise not to let them affect my views as you begin the tough task ahead…and i mean that as a citizen, not as a radio host (where today it’s part of my job to remain neutral). i believe something that we have heard perhaps more following this election than any other in recent memory: i am an american and you are (will be) my president. if you need my help, you call and i will be there for you. that’s a duty we owe to the office and our country.
good luck and god bless you. god bless all of us.
p.s.: could you please see if you can keep the next election cycle a little shorter?
p.p.s.: i’m gonna hold you to that thing you said on letterman about not letting apple release a new ipod right after i buy the old ipod!
rock’n'roll