...not "funny ha-ha."
This article makes my heart hurt a little:
How Obama Saved Capitalism. Now, I know my Wisconsin readers (you know who you are) are rolling their eyes and patting themselves on the back for their Republican elects, but take two minutes to read the article. It's short.
One of the worst feelings in the world is "I am doing the best I can, and people think I suck." It's even worse when you combine that feeling with also knowing that everyone's perception of what you've been doing is totally off-base (translation: knowing that you're right), and if those people (1) had all the facts, and (2) calmed down enough to look at the situation rationally, they might actually give you some credit.
My Grandma always had a magnet up on her refrigerator that said "Nobody notices what I do until I don't do it." Obama needs one of those magnets.
Obama did the best he could with what he had. I know how that goes.
One of my best friends in high school was notorious for being "the stupidest smart kid we knew" (one of those guys who got a full ride to Princeton, but wasn't aware that 4 month old babies could not be left alone to fend for themselves for hours on end). The summer after our first year away at different colleges, we all got together back home for a big birthday dinner. We had all had interesting experiences, but most of us came back looking the same... except for me. I had cut my shoulder length, straight hair into a very short, messy bob (think a brunette version of
Meg Ryan from "You've Got Mail" because that's what I liked to tell myself it looked like). My smart friend and I sat next to each other at dinner, and we were all essentially going around the table sharing (relatively PG-rated versions of) what we had learned during our first year of college.
My friend, in his infinite wisdom, proclaimed, "I realized that I believe all girls should have long, straight hair."
The table fell silent, and all eyes turned to me. Known for being the one to always put him in his place, the people were expecting a fire storm. Instead, I sat quietly, letting the awkwardness settle in. My dear friend finally recognized the silence and realized everyone was looking at me with my short, messy (in retrospect, admittedly, not-so-cute) haircut. A couple seconds later he realized why, to which he loudly remarked, "Oh, no Nic, not you. You do the best you can with what you've got."
While it wasn't exactly a compliment for me, I think, in Obama's case, it is. Or at least it should be. He had someone else's mess to clean up, and given the circumstances, did a pretty darn good job.
The American public makes me see the worst in myself.
They want it and they want it now. And right now for them, "It's the Worst It's Ever Been" (credit:
Liz Wright). I think, now that the Republicans have won their seats and the nasty, mud-slinging campaigns are over (for now), a little credit where credit is due wouldn't hurt anyone.
I spent hours prepping for all the what-ifs and talking to friends who do this stuff everyday. I did yoga breathing in the car to make sure I was calm enough to deliver my argument. My i's were dotted and my t's were crossed. My client even showed up on time. The DA was just enough of a jerk to make me feel like a legitimate lawyer, but not such a jerk that I felt like crying in the bathroom.