100 Days

"I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days."
- Beginning of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address.

The clock is ticking.
The calendar pages are turning.
Done are the speeches
and parades.
The final turn around the dance floor
fades into last night's party.
In the Oval Office sleeve rolling
and tie loosening need to happen.

The dark days are ended
and you are named,
if not the light at the end
of the tunnel
at least the lamp bearer.
Done is arguing and blaming.
If we are going to progress
and recover as a people
commitment to recovery
needs to happen.

Long ago they told stories
of a people building
a land of opportunity
and what would be
handed to children
after the gifts and gold
were nurtured
and made more powerful
by you and me.
Somehow that didn't happen.

In 1793, George Washington
took the first presidential oath,
kissed the Bible
and said,
"I shall lead you,
through storms and calm,
so help me God!"
He did as this young nation
stood behind him
no matter what happened.

President Abraham Lincoln
in his second speech declared;
"With malice toward none;
with charity for all;
with firmness in the right,
as God gives us to see the right,
let us strive on to finish the work we are in;
to bind up the nation's wounds;
to care for him who shall have borne the battle,
to do all which may achieve
and cherish a just and lasting peace,
among ourselves, and with all nations."
For a brief time,
that seemed to happen.

68 years later,
Franklin D. Roosevelt
handed out a new deal,
launched with the words,
"In every dark hour of our national life
a leadership of frankness and vigor
has met with that understanding
and support of the people themselves
which is essential to victory.
I am convinced that you will again
give that support to leadership
in these critical days.
Let's make it happen!"

Once again America finds
herself on a precipice,
where financial disaster
and political strife
seem the flavor of the day.
We have been through dark days
and have seen sadness
in the eyes of our children
and fear in the hearts
of our strongest workers.
I pray we turn this around.
together we can make it happen.

They say the first 100 days
in a presidency
tell if we picked the
right man for the job,
or if once again
we are left with
empty promises who's
value die with the echo
of the speaker's voice.
Hard work and diligence
make salvation happen.

For President Obama
and our great nation,
I pray for guidance
and deliverance from
our current situation.
Let's come together,
and put America back on top.
When we again stand
arm-in-arm,
positive change will happen.

The clock is ticking.
The calendar pages are turning.
Done are the speeches
and parades.
The final turn around the dance floor
fades into last night's party.
In the Oval Office sleeve rolling
and tie loosening need to happen.

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America."
-End of President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address