Image: Samantha Appleton/WhiteHouse.gov

Let’s take a closer look at the reality of the situation.

Mr. wOw dislikes being in the position of defending President Barack Obama. First of all, I voted for him reluctantly. Mrs. Clinton was my first choice. Second, too much defending never quite works out. Especially with this president, who has been so scorched by vile rumor and criticism.

But I stand amazed at the attention the “exhausted” female at the president’s recent town hall meeting has received. And frankly, I am amazed at the woman herself. She’s tired of defending him? Tired of waiting for things to change? Really? Well, stock up on coffee, lady. And wake up and smell it.

What do Americans want – a president or an emperor? Because if you want an honest president, please be advised that he (and hopefully someday, she) doesn’t really have that much power. The president can’t just wave a magic wand and reverse financial trends or make poverty disappear or personally put people to work. Sometimes a president and his advisers can behave like a Roman dictator – they can declare a war, they can torture, they can tap phones. They can say, “I’m The Decider!” and “Mission Accomplished.”

President Obama has been in the White House just under two years. I’ve had my issues with the manner in which he has dealt with certain things. Honestly, I wish he behaved more like the evil Socialist Manchurian Candidate he is thought to be by millions of white Americans, rather than the often too careful, lawyerly, professorial man who is Barack Obama.

When I was very young – an adolescent – I used to wonder why “things didn’t change” after a president was elected. I mean, he was the president, right? He had all this power, right? And they always say “things are really gonna change when I’m in office,” right? And then I became an adult, more or less, and saw how the system works. And I saw how important it was for a president to have two terms in office. Because in eight years, you might actually get two years of “change” completed. Unless you start a war, then you pack in thousands upon thousands of deaths – a great accomplishment.

Are we a country of adolescents? What? Let’s just stamp our feet and hold our breath till we turn blue. Then maybe the president will pay attention.

It’s not that I’m not very irritated by Obama from time to time, but I sure as hell intend to be realistic – which for Mr. wOw is an often revolutionary concept. I was never, ever swept up in Obamamania, and I thought those who were – were idiots. Not because Obama was a bad guy, but simply because he’s just a man, a politician for heaven’s sake! The idea that he’d sweep in and rock our world was absurd, childish. (Oh, I know – you conservatives are going to say, “He did rock our world! He’s sooooooo bad! Evil and out to destroy America as we have known and loved it.” There, I said it for you.)

I will continue to cast a wary but still optimistic eye at President Obama, and I’ll vote for him again in 2012. And you out there who voted for him and are now disillusioned – try to get over it and be a part of the solution, not the problem. You know the alternative, and it ain’t pretty.