An Open Letter To President Obama

This open letter to President Obama was written by my son Kyle. Its intent is to remind the President of some of the important promises he so eloquently made to Americans and to the world that sadly, he is not living up to:

Dear President Obama,

I voted for you after being inspired by your platform of "Change." The problems that you inherited are as big or bigger than any President who preceded you. It was said that the country needed another Abraham Lincoln to make the difficult decisions to turn our nation around and as you discussed reading his biography it seemed that you understood the challenges at hand.

So far you have been a disappointment, largely because CHANGE has not come as you are making politically expedient decisions. Those which kick the can down the same old road so that repercussions can be dealt with later.

I will address several of your decisions:

The Economy - the United States is in a state of undeclared bankruptcy as your predecessors have created a massive deficit which is sustainable until it isn't. Continuing down that path (only at an increased pace) will only put the time-frame and decision of when the government will have to live within its means in the hands of those countries that buy our treasuries. CHANGE is stepping up, ending the deficit cycle and using your eloquence to convince the country that we must make the hard decision now and sacrifice. That day is coming, the only decision is whether you make it happen or allow it to happen after making things worse.

The Iraq War - Ending it in 16 months was the policy of CHANGE of Candidate Obama. Your policy as President is exactly the same as the last President. In fact your speech announcing the "new" policy was almost verbatim as Mr. Bush's.

The War in Afghanistan / Pakistan - Increasing our commitment to this is a huge mistake although I can’t argue that it isn’t a change. Please Google the history of Afghanistan and note that this region is where empires go to die.

In short it appears that you are letting the military set our foreign policy. As I mentioned in discussing the massive spending of money we don't have; we are borrowing to kill and build in these countries which is fomenting hatred and using precious resources (blood and treasure) which are desperately needed at home. This is CHANGE that Dick Cheney would believe in but not those who want to end the killing and spending.

Dan Choi - This is the most disturbing example of your lack of leadership so far. Candidate Obama said that "don't ask don't tell" was discrimination and would end that policy. You are now confronted with a West Point Graduate who has led troops in 2 tours of combat duty in Iraq AND is an Arab linguist. As he has now admitted to being gay, he is being discharged under "don't ask don't tell" on your watch. What is troubling is that you know this is wrong yet you either choose or are unable to lead. You do not exert your power as the Commander in Chief and do what you know is right (at least that is what Candidate Obama said was right). When you choose to sit silently in the face of injustice then you are showing a lack of courage and are choosing to play politics. This discrimination imbrues the same shameful policies into our history books as those that kept blacks out of the military.

Leadership is making the tough decisions that bear consequences. You are being a politician instead of being the Abraham Lincoln that is so desperately needed. Candidate Obama was in tune with the majority of America as they wanted and voted for change. Stop playing politics and kicking the can down the road and become the LEADER that you were elected to be. That is what our citizens wanted and what our nation needs. Your legacy and our future is in your hands!

Sincerely,

Kyle Kazan

Ps. The Presidential website shows Obama as a misspelling…