Thank You, Mr. President(s)

Thank you, President Bush.

As you leave office, the polls may leave you somewhat disheartened and even a bit sad. The economic woes of the entire world seem to be blamed on you directly, and people are scared.

But those polls forget one monumentally important thing because polls don’t know how to measure the null set. The horrors of September 11, 2001 are seared in all our memories. For months after that terrifying day, we all were fearful of more attacks. After a while, when they didn’t happen, we settled down and stopped worrying so much and the fear faded and the complacency set it.

But you never were complacent because you knew that the enemy had not gone away. Only you know how many other 9/11's were planned and thwarted, strategized and destroyed.

Because another 9/11 did not happen on your watch, so many people just assume that those forces of evil simply ran away. But you know the truth and you know how many times this country truly was threatened and how many times it was saved.

For that, every American owes you a debt of gratitude. History will assuredly treat you better than the polls today, and I for one am sure that you will be restored in your own life time. Thank you for what you did.

Thank you, President Obama.

As you enter office, the polls must make you smile a bit, even though you hardly seem like the bragging type.

You are bolstered by a groundswell of support from all those who voted for you and by many who did not. You have huge burdens to shoulder and huge problems to resolve, but there is a strong wind of hope at your back from millions of Americans and from citizens around the world.

Your talents and your virtues are mammoth – you are intelligent and empathetic; you are a listener and a gatherer of ideas; you seem ordinary like the rest of us with no pretense or show.

You have said that you will listen to ideas from all points of view and by living up to that promise your leadership can for the first time in over two decades dissolve the sinister forces of partisanship embedded in our Government, preventing it from working for the people it represents. In just the last two weeks, you have certainly given evidence of keeping your word.

While I did not vote for you in November, I am one of millions of Americans who stand behind you with support and goodwill. I would like nothing more than to be drawn over to your side.

Thank you for what you will do.