Well, it's time for Barack Obama to put up or shut up. All this time the Democrats have been preaching change. Well, they got their administration in; let's see some change.

It isn't that I have anything against Obama. I'm certainly proud of our country and its ability to see past racial and gender lines. But if they think that the world is suddenly going to be a rosy, happy, better place tomorrow...well, I'd hide the guns, because there are going to be some sorely mistaken folks.

I was especially struck by something an NPR correspondent said on the radio this morning while I was driving to work. She was commenting on how early people had shown up on the Mall in DC for the inauguration, and she said, "All these people just want to be a part of an event that changes everything."

This event does not change EVERYTHING. Sadly, it doesn't change much of ANYTHING. People have not automatically stopped hating other people because they are different colors, genders, religions, orientations, or nationalities. People have not stopped judging others on completely ridiculous bases.

Just because an African American man was elected President does not mean every president from now until the end of time will be a minority. I've got news for you, folks; we'll probably have another old white guy in the Oval Office at some point. This does not immediately make it possible for blacks to get better jobs, better housing, or better health care, and it certainly doesn't keep inner-city blacks from shooting each other over the stupidest shit imaginable.

All this does is add a new page to the history books, for a new President. We would've had a new page anyway, regardless of who won.

I am NOT a racist. But I view Obama's election for what it is. Not the event that changes everything, but an event that shows how far we have come as a nation. We still have very, very far to go.

My fear is that people have hyped Obama so much he won't be able to live up to the expectations. The man is not a savior. He will not eradicate the US deficit tomorrow. In fact, he's going to add drastically to it (if he follows the typical Democrat pattern of spend, spend, spend). He will not (CANNOT) end our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow. Bringing the troops home prematurely would be a tremendous mistake, and he knows it. That's why he let the military leadership President Bush had established remain in place. He will not immediately restore the world's faith in the US, in either our popularity or our industry.

All he can do is make the best decisions he can. That's the same thing McCain would have done, in the same position.

So, don't hype Obama as the Messiah. Don't expect to wake up tomorrow in a New World Order. Don't have such high expectations that the poor guy won't be able to live up to them. Just sit back, hold tight, expect things to probably get worse before they can get better.

And don't feed me this crap about how our electing a black President is going to "change everything". At this point in our history, racism is far down on the list of our worries.

And I'm not even going to post this morning's weigh-in because it SUCKED. Let's see Obama change THAT.