A Question I keep getting asked: What do you think of Obama?

President-elect Barack Obama As an American living abroad, very few people ever asked me what I thought of President Bush. They all have their opinions, it seems. And while few Swiss generally share their opinions with me, they are very intrigued about my own opinion of the incoming president. To this question, I’ve developed a pretty stock answer: “I don’t know. Ask me in a few years.”

President-elect Obama has demonstrated thoughtfulness in the few times I have heard him speak extemporaneuously. He also seems to have assembled a very competent cabinet with vast amounts of political experience. This can be put another way- it’s the same old faces we’ve come to know. Another young president did his best to put together a superstar team, and it led us to the war in Vietnam. All this says is that brain power isn’t everything.

President Carter is perhaps one of the smartest men in the world, and yet his presidency is generally views as a failure. It took President Bush to eclipse him in that department, showing that failure is not limited to one party or another.

Given the choice between having brain power and experience and not having it, clearly I’d rather have it. But something more is required: wisdom. While it’s easy to demonstrate a lack of wisdom, I’m not sure how easy it is to demonstrate that one has it. Again, the thoughtfulness that he has applied to complex issues leads me to hope, but that’s the best I can do for now.

Correction! 23:59:60 UTC

I shouldn’t have been disappointed by not seeing 23:59:60 on New Years Eve as I am not in London. As mcb points out in a comment, the leap second occurs at 23:59:60 UTC.

Yet Another Book Review: The Official Filthy Rich Handbook

I like a book that starts out in the following way:

Remember when having a couple of million dollars meant something? Neither do we.

Thus begins The Official Filthy Rich Handbook (How the other .0001% lives), by Christopher Tennant. Very few of us have been in the position of having to decide which island to buy, or how to throw an over-the-top society party. And with the economy in the dumper, fewer of us are likely to get there any time soon, but when we do, this is the book to have. It includes all sorts of fun directories, like private clubs, personal travel management, and realtors. While not every restaurant mentioned is out of reach of us mere mortals- I have been to Il Fornaio often, and it is very affordable to working people – certainly I look forward to the day when I get to decorate my first private jet. Did you know that Tom Cruise has a hot tub in his? Talk about physics challenges.

Perhaps the best way to describe this book is to borrow from Tom Wolfe who has a splash on the back cover:

Reading this handbook is like eating 12 baked Alaskas in a row…

Ah glutony! Those looking for charity should look elsewhere.

Seen on a Chilis check

“No Purchase Necessary.”

Out of the kindness of my heart, I purchased the meal anyway.

(Enter a sweepstakes for providing customer feedback.)

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009, Everyone! We brought in the new year with coverage of Times Square by NBC. After having mentioned in a previous post how we would have a leap second this year, NBC in fact brought it up, and then didn’t show the clock going to 23:59:60. Booo!!!

I wish you and yours a much happier and a healthy 2009! Many changes are coming to all of our lives. There will be a new administration in the White House, and with it new priorities, and perhaps a new discussion about how we can all make our lives better.

Maybe we will also see new inventions, and the rise of new artists. We will see the new Harry Potter movie, with any luck. And we’ll see new places. Although who knows where, just yet.