Barack Obama

President Obama will be my Commander in Chief. For the first time in my life I did not know who I was going to vote for when I went into the booth. The way I saw it, the financial bubble was going to hit the fan in the next four years, and having a Socialist-leaning leader during bad times would cause a Conservative backlash in the next election.

My conscience wanted to vote for the Constitution Party. But I ended up voting for McCain, because of the Supreme Court, and a worry that things might get very bad and a man with at least a marginally similar worldview as I would be at the helm.

Politically, Obama might turn out to be OK because he seems to be an opportunistic pragmatist. He will probably make decisions based on political self interest rather than political ideology. He’s got the left and will need to move right. In retrospect, I am pleased with a President Obama.

But the Presidency is a tough job and Obama has never been tested. I remember that in my first tough job, people started making me very angry. I became bitter for a while. It wasn’t that the people had changed, it was me, feeling the pressure because of the real consequences of my actions, with everybody watching.

I am concerned that Obama will struggle with the pressure of the office. This is not a good sign.

"All right guys. That's enough. You've got a shot. Leave us alone. Come on guys. Get back on the bus,"

A Hawaii vacation is a relatively stress-free event. The job doesn’t get any easier. The irony of the Presidency is that no well-qualified honest candidate would want the job.

Russia is suffering with low oil prices. Putin will test Obama to make prices rise. I suspect it will be militarizing a claim to Arctic oil.