Lori and I got the chance to listen to Ted Sorensen speak at the Lied tonight. For those of you that haven't heard of him, Sorensen is a Lincoln native, who went on to be special counsel and adviser to President JFK. He was there during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He's also advised and assisted many world leaders.
He, of course, is a well-educated man with a quick wit that I love. Even as questions came in from the audience at the end, he was as sharp as a tack. He has lost much of his sight in the past few years but, of course, his mind is still strong. I don't like smart-alecks. People that think they need to have a smart answer or quip to every thing. It's not like that. It's a smart response that is well timed and brilliant.
I liked what he had to say but I took issue with a few things. One is his contempt for President GW Bush. Sorensen kept talking about how much his likes Obama and how things will change and how it's important to be bi-partisan but then he would just tear Bush down. He did it on numerous occassions but I'm not sure it needed to be done. He said some things early on that made it very clear where he stood but he kept coming back to it.
Ok, I will let that go now. What I did like was that he said it was important for a president to have a compassionate heart, a creative mind and a courageous spirit. That issues need to be thought through and the first thought that is widely held maybe isn't the right one. Sorensen said that many wanted to bomb the sites in Cuba but if that had happened we probably all wouldn't be alive right now. I believe Obama will bring a different look at the world but I don't think just because he steps into office (unlike what Sorensen said) that the entire world will be a better place. If you've read any stories lately some world leaders haven't made the greatest comments about Obama and I think some of them will test him. That is why it will be important for him to surround himself with good people (umm...please not Hillary for Secretary of State and yes to independent thinker Chuck Hagel).
Our time to make this nation and this world a better place is now. Not a month or two months from now. But maybe, just maybe, it can turn around.
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