Over the past several days, many readers of “The Thirsty Quill” have asked me what I was going to write about on Inauguration Day. In addition to our current series “Ranking The Presidents,” and our “Live From The Inauguration” reports by Josh McGrath, many folks have been interested in exactly how we would approach today’s festivities.

It’s no secret that ‘The Quill’ is a Conservative and Pro-Republican blog. Furthermore, we’ve made it apparent over the past two-and-a-half months that we’re not huge fans of soon-to-be-President Barack Obama. However, we have many readers (and a handful of writers) who are of the Liberal (and Democratic) mindset. Several of them have asked me privately if I was going to put a positive or negative spin on today’s monumental occasion.

So, while I will remain a staunch Conservative and a diehard Republican, I believe it is important to keep with the attitude of the country today in celebrating this historic milestone. And while I may not agree with President Obama’s policies or the direction in which he wishes to take our great nation, I will give pause to those feelings today and pay respect to our 44^th Commander-in-Chief.

Here are “The Top-10 Things I Appreciate And Respect About President Barack Obama”…

10- His sincerity and genuine nature to achieve the very best for our nation.

9- His gifted ability to motivate and captivate Americans by the tens-of-thousands.

8- His “no nonsense” approach to dealing with national issues.

7- His frankness about the problems our nation faces at this stage in our history.

6- His speeches, which cause even the staunchest of Conservatives to sit up and listen.

5- His willingness to wait “in the wings” since November, stating that there is only one President.

4- The fact that while he was waiting “off stage,” he began working hard so as to be prepared to “hit the ground running” on January 20^th.

3- His willingness to cooperate with outgoing President George W. Bush in the smooth transition of power.

2- His perseverance in regard to representing the true pioneering spirit of America.

1- His uncanny ability to bring a sense of true patriotism to millions who have never expressed such feelings before.  

So, on this day I wish President Obama nothing but the very best. As I’ve stated countless times before, his success will run parallel to America’s success as a nation.

To outgoing President Bush, I am glad that he will finally be relieved of the heavy burden of the unforgiving nature of those who never quite understood what he was trying to do…and what he ultimately accomplished. As a student of history, I know all-too-well that the history books will be far kinder to his legacy than the American public has been these past eight years.  Godspeed Mr. President.