Dear President Obama,

I’m glad you took the advice in my recent letter to you and finished the issue of healthcare, even if it was at the expense of a few key issues such as abortion rights and a public option – thank you for using the political strength we, your voting electorate, knew you had within you to follow through on the single most debated topic of the past year.  Despite this victory, however, you should not consider yourself finished with the tough, partisan issues, as the work is far from done.

I am of the belief, just as you once voiced in an interview, that it would be a far better mark on history to be a great one-term President than one with two mediocre terms – healthcare is not the only issue that you may have to sacrifice your longterm political career for over the greater good of the nation.  It is, therefore, imperative that you continue to push the issues that are of great relevance to the betterment of our people than those that are politically easy, and do so as fast as humanly possible in order to accomplish the very maseparating businesses from politics, ximum your Presidency can achieve.  Re-regulating the financial sector, addressing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and passing valuable legislation on the issue of Climate Change, especially in light of the failure at Copenhagen, are just some of these immensely important issues.

The hard fights should not all be fought in your first Term, however.  If you have a second Term, as I hope you will, it should be used for the political battles that are currently impossible:  further regulation and reform of the insurance cartels, the creation of a public option, and various other topics that, while pressing, are not feasible given the current political climate and the cost, both time and effort, it would take to simply see them fail – an eight year legacy of reform, regulation, and restoration would be something that every freethinking, intelligent citizen of America would be proud of.

Do not let the threats of Republican healthcare repeal, or its challenging in the Supreme Court, both of which are inevitably destined to fail, scare or dissuade you from further action – as we have seen, their party is simply interested in opposition, partisanship, obstruction, and the status quo.  This is not the time to declare victory and let the rest of your Presidency run free, a concept you seem to understand since you’re already moving onto the reform of the financial industry.  Do not worry about elections, as you still have the majority in Congress:  use it to the greatest possible effect, and worry about next year when the November elections arrive.  Do not worry about the insane, upset, demonstrably crazy vocal minority that is currently screaming obscenities, behaving like children, and issuing death threats to you – they represent the People even less than most of the current Congressional Republicans do.

I’m proud, and thankful, that you saw an issue through that could have resulted in a political backlash – it speaks volumes of both your character and purpose, justifying why I, along with so many others of my age and mindset, elected you as our President.  I have great faith that you will continue along this vein and follow your political heart wherever it takes you, hopefully resulting in history recognizing you as the early 21st century’s FDR.

Good luck – I think you’ll need it.

Sincerely,

Kyle Brady

Kyle can be found on his blog, on Facebook, via email, or on Twitter.

A year ago, Barack Hussien Obama, son of an African Muslim, a child of divorce with an international, multi-racial, and multi-cultural upbringing gave hope to America. In fact, he gave hope to the world. He was a living image of the North American Dream – a symbol of the notion that anything, no matter how far away it may seem, is possible in the land of opportunity. A year later, although his mere presence in the White House still inspires many and his diplomatic and intellectual approach to ge0-politics continues to make  him incredibly popular overseas, Obama is in crisis at home.  After what was perhaps the most partisan first year in American Presidential history, Obama is on the ropes. The question now is, will he come back firing or set his sights on appeasement in the name of re-election? RELATIVTY OnLine’s American coorospndent Kyle Brady poses this very question to the man himself.      

Dear President Obama,

I’m writing to you as a 22-yr. old Democrat that not only helped vote you into the Presidency, but as an individual politically changed by your campaign and ascendancy.  I’m writing to you as a so-called young adult that’s heavily interested in politics, thanks in no small part to you, and is concerned about the current political climate.  I’m writing to you because your State of the Union, in combination with your Address to the GOP, gave me hope – one of your overriding political principles.

I was impressed with your campaign because you seemed interested in returning intelligence, self-respect, and poise to American politics, all of which were sorely diminished after your predecessor’s disastrous Terms of Office.  And, to be fair, you have done all you can to return these values to our way of life, most especially with respect to the foreign view of our nation.  The actions you have taken to give science, math, and education their rightful places in American society are extremely respectable, as are many of the other changes you have wrought either via Executive Order or a forceful wrangling of Congress.

While I don’t support your decisions unilaterally, such as the various bailouts of corrupt and broken institutions, I do support your overall message of change.  Healthcare reform, in its truest sense, is widely recognized by the American people, in an overwhelming majority, as necessary to both our continued healthy and profitable existence, just as are the reforms of financial institutions and legitimately addressing climate change.  However, your supporters are beginning to lose faith because of your insistence on fair politics.

Your interest in bipartisan politics is highly respectable, especially given that you’ve chosen to tackle a historically disastrous issue in a political climate that is far less than favorable, and no-one will ever deny you this fact.  But the attempts over the last year to have bipartisan involvement in federal-level politics have proven to be mostly fruitless, exempting the few special cases such as Defense spending – why should this offer of cooperation continue to be extended?  The GOP’s response to the State of the Union, and the not-so-subtle hostility that you received when addressing them at their own invitation, should be evidence enough that not only do they not wish to cooperate, on any level, but that they will also take great steps to slight you in any manner possible.

What you likely already realize, but bears repeating regardless, is that the Congressional Republicans unequivocallydo not represent the American people, just as the Teabagger movement does not represent the majority of the Republicans within the United States of America.  Healthcare reform, even if a public option must be temporarily forgotten, is too important to relinquish due to a subset of the population that is either completely corrupt or do not fully understand what they are protesting.  Even if the result is a Republican rancor like never before seen, this legislation must be pushed through.

The myriad other issues at hand must also be quickly addressed, possibly at the expense of your own political career, because I have no great faith that your successor will have the same strength of will or interest in carrying out necessary reforms that are not politically favorable.  You have the chance to be the modern generation’s FDR, and I hope you take that chance – even if you only have a single Term of Office, instead of three.  The nation’s infrastructure began crumbling long before the banks or the people did, and ensuring their survival is every bit as important as healthcare reform, alongside other longview policy decisions that will ultimately not produce a visible result for years into the future.

I believe that you realize the hostile political climate may very well mean you won’t be re-elected in 2012, but this does not seem to matter greatly to you, as some of your more recent comments have indicated.  It is for this reason that I, on behalf of Democrats, Republicans, and thinking persons throughout the country, beg you to make good on your intentions to be a great one-term President instead of simply a mediocre two-term one:  finish healthcare reform, and move on to the other issues – there is a long list, and it is only getting longer.

We are a year into your Presidency, and you have accomplished much – but you have three years and far to go.  Don’t let a wish for bipartisanship, or a fear of misperception, tarnish your good intentions and strong ideals, as the nation will ultimately suffer for those actions.  It’s important that you continue to make the well informed, careful decisions that you have been, but with a more apolitical eye towards popularity and likability in the future; history smiles on those who affect great change and produce significant contributions, not those who wish to be liked and popular.

The American people are behind you, even if the media often states otherwise, and we will likely continue to support you through the bitter end, barring some inconceivable political change of course.  As a young, intelligent, and possibly idealistic citizen of the United States, I’m proud to say that you’re my President and that you have given me hope for the future of our political system, even as Congress appears to be more and more broken by the day.

Here’s hoping you choose the path of FDR over that of Coolidge.

Sincerely,

Kyle Brady

Kyle can be found on his blog, via email, or on Twitter.