My New Years Resolution

1 - Forgive George W. Bush.

To be honest he doesn't need my forgiveness and he hasn't done anything to directly harm me, although he was a significant factor in my retiring a few months earlier than planned from the offshore oil business in the Persian Gulf. In my opinion he pushed us all into an unnecessary war, spent more money than a no-tax president should, put the country in hock, irked almost everyone on the planet (including our natural allies), usurped a little more power and did a little more invasion of privacy than you might expect from a compassionate conservative/less government kind of guy.

Of course he had his reasons and just enough popular support and political acumen to move his agenda forward. Even now, with almost negative approval ratings and a Democratic majority congress, he wields the veto pen and twists arms to an amazing and quite impressive level. You have to hand it to the guy he is a born leader in the "I know what's right mold" - stubborn as all get out, not flip-floppy, and loyal to a fault. No one is going to intimidate the USA on his watch, no matter the cost.

So the resolution to forgive will only help me and not the president or anyone else, but I suspect that most (resolutions) are of the personal/self-improvement kind. I can free my mind of any animosity toward the guy, although I found it very helpful when training for or riding long distance on my bike to take my mind off sore legs or behind or heat or headwinds. Nothing soothes an aching body more than mental diversion.

To be fair here is the list of popular resolutions that are listed on USA.gov (with links to help you do it): 1 - Lose Weight, 2 - Pay Off Debt, 3 - Save Money, 4 - Get a Better Job, 5 - Get Fit, 6 - Eat Right, 7 - Get a Better Education, 8 - Drink Less Alcohol, 9 - Quit Smoking Now, 10 - Reduce Stress Overall, 11 - Reduce Stress at Work, 12 - Take a Trip, 13 - Volunteer to Help Others.

I'm not going to have W. around much longer to complain about and I have a whole year to try and forgive him before he's gone and doing good things like an ex-president should. Hopefully, I won't be ruing the day when the next guy or gal takes over and I was wishing for the "good ol' days." With any luck, my 2009 resolution will be the strength to defend my presidential choice to my father-in-law and Republican friends.

(by Marc Adami, Guest Columnist)