Obama talks about trains

I voted for Obama. It's great that he's the first black president, but it's not the most important thing to me. It's gratifying that he represents a big change from the previous administration. But for me, the real thing with Obama is, every time I hear him talk, he sounds like he's actually thinking. You sometimes see him pausing to think during press conferences. It's been so long overdue to have somebody in the White House who can sustain a thought process. So every time I hear him talk, I get another little bump of good feeling about him. Thank goodness he shares so many of my values; in the other camp he'd be a significant danger.

I don't know whether his economic policies will succeed. I hope so.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
— Theodore Roosevelt

Alright, enough gushing. But I really do love having this guy as my president.



A few days ago, Obama and Biden presented a vision of the future of railroads in America. I think it's pretty damn cool. I live in the Northeast Corridor where train service is the best in the country, and I haven't taken the train anywhere since college thirty-mumble years ago. I'm not a big train enthusiast. But I think this is the kind of thing that can stimulate national enthusiasm, not in a trivial meaningless way, but toward a goal that creates jobs and opportunities for new businesses that create more jobs.