John Foley

So I must admit that I did not vote for Barack Obama. I intended to, and my wife and I drove to downtown Vancouver, where we live, but she was over eight months pregnant, was not feeling good, and when we saw the long lines at the polls, we decided against it. Her water broke prematurely, and our son, Sean Michael, was born on Nov. 10, 2008. I was very pleased when Obama won, and I’ve admired the way he’s conducted himself as President. He inherited a mess, he knew it, and he’s never backed away from the challenge. I could get into policy, and his health care triumph, but I think I’m most impressed by the President’s subtle gestures — giving his Nobel Peace Prize money to charity, not reacting angrily to blatantly racist attacks, appointing a bitter political rival (Hillary Clinton) to one of the highest offices in the land…The man has class. He reminds me of JFK in that sense. Kennedy has received much criticism over the years, and like Bill Clinton his personal affairs have somewhat overshadowed his accomplishments, but really, I think he was one of our greatest presidents. In a mere three years, he managed to solve arguably the greatest threat to the U.S. security with his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, initiated the space program and took a stand for civil rights that was brave, beautiful and lasting…I remember reading about a White House dinner at which Kennedy invited Nobel Prize recipients, and when he gave a speech at the occasion he said the room contained the greatest collection of talent ever assembled there — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. That’s class. Obama has it. And he has a helluva lefty jumper to boot. I hope he succeeds brilliantly.