Of thee I sing.

As I stood in Wal-Mart the other day and flipped through Barack Obama's third book, the notion that has been swirling around my mind for some time has become official. It's simply this. He is too good of man to be President of the United States. That isn't a diss to any former President, since it takes a person that truly excels to even win the presidency. But there is a certain character trait the "leader of the free world" must posses, good or bad, Obama doesn't seem to have it.

I've read his first two books and this latest one I probably would have bought and finished also, but it's deemed a children's book and I've already purchased the Elf on the Shelf recently for my Wife. Since we don't have any children yet I didn't want a strange habit forming, but I digress.

From what I did manage to read in Of Thee I Sing: A letter to my Daughters, along with his first book in particular Dreams from my Father (which I've read twice) he speaks with a certain voice. A voice that seems to look at the world, and family, and history a bit differently then not only any President before him, but also any other author I've come across. It's certainly due to his interracial upbringing and the mixture of cultures that he has faced throughout his life but there is more to it then just that.

He has an ability to really see people and understand them. That is why he was able to win the election in the first place, he was out there, amongst his supporters and winning more and more by the second. People were able to relate to him in some intangible way that they may not even have understood at the time. Not even a daily barrage of falsehoods by Fox News and right wing radio changed people's minds back then. It was because his position as a presidential candidate allowed him freedoms he no longer has today. No matter what they threw at us, when we actually saw and heard the man himself, it overshadowed the negativity.

Fast forward to right now. I recently contemplated scraping off the Obama/Biden sticker that has made its home on the back window of my pickup truck for the past couple of years. I'm supposed to be the frustrated liberal, aggravated because he hasn't lived up to his promise, he hasn't brought us that change he spoke so fluently about back in 2008. In a way I am. But then it dawned on me as I examined the cover of his book, the great artwork of his daughters Malia and Sasha walking their dog Bo. That is why the man is here.

My Grandfather once told me "No matter what you do for a living, whether you're the President or a guy with a mop, providing a great life to your children, being the best husband you can be. That is your true job in the end. That is what makes you a good man."

Barack Obama has the extreme burden that only a microscopic amount of human beings will ever truly understand. He is the leader of the free world and he is handling it the best he can. Since all signs point to a one term presidency, in 2012 when his run is over he will be able to once again put in real work, effect people in a way that really matters.

Bill Maher has said that it's mostly Democrats that have gone on to do some amazing work when their Presidencies are over, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton most notably. That it's inherit in their worldview and character that they want to really help, on the sidelines perhaps, long after the game is over. I can only hope that when we look back on Barack Obama it's not his time as President we will remember most fondly but what he was able to accomplish in his life to follow.

He was supposed to bring us change, let's just hope his 4 years at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave doesn't change him.