The first 50 days

Getting away from London back to Paris to start our trip to DC was an event - the 5 inches of snow stopped the trains, buses, taxis, closed Heathrow and all but one Underground line. Eventually we got from Guildford to St Pancras for the Eurostar - which ran to time - the only transport system running that day.
So we have arrived in DC at an interesting point in history. The first 100 days of Obama's term. The exposure of Obama on the TV and in the press is amazing - the guy seems to spend several hours each day talking his policy and actions through. As an alien I look at this with open eyes - but not without my own prejudice. I believe the American Dream has morphed during the last 10 -15 years into a dream based on greed. Obama is trying hard to get that dream reset onto ideals of honesty, integrity, due reward for due effort, equality and accessibility for all. Its going to be very tough because so many are already tainted by the outgoing American Dream. There are contradictions when you see notices by the cash tills that ask you to pay $1-$5 extra on your bill to empower the poor when the banks are taking tax payers money for bonuses and the TV's and newspapers run massive ads for cheap homes (foreclosures). A big play is made on this re-birth of the American Dream - I got lost in the Senate buildings and ended up in a Commerce Sub-Committee hearing led by J. D. Rockefeller where blessings were given to the new Commerce Secretary Gvnr Locke - whose grandfather arrived as a Chinese immigrant - many references were made to Gvnr Locke being an example of how the American Dream can work.
The sense of history is strong - the parallels contrasting the current crisis and Obama's task with Lincoln and his task around the civil war are everywhere.
The other aspect that hits you is the military presence around DC. I was relieved yesterday to see that debate is quite open - I read in the Washington Post an article started by a concerned father asking readers what he should say to his 19 year old son who wanted to join the military. There is no conclusion - but the debate was refreshing - although for 19 year olds the lure of a paying job is strong. And the publicity is very glamorous.



I managed to get a visit to the Capitol - the intro. made special reference to the war of 1812 when the British burned down most of the Capitol;-( Its so tough being British. And how about the early prototype of the Capitol.

Here's an interesting cut on customer relations