This article was written on 01/21/2009 by Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times.
Thomas Friedman is a New York Times " Foreign affairs" columnist and is a three time pulitzer prize winner.He has reported on the Middle East conflict, the end of the cold war, U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy, international economics, and the worldwide impact of terrorists.
This article appeared in the NY Times Opinion column. It was directed at an audience that had just witnessed the swearing-in of a new president, an audience that may be for or against the policies of the new president. I couldn't determine whether the writer was Liberal or Conservative, only that he was glad of the change in guard.
This article was written to celebrate the accomplishment of electing a President, who is of mixed race, and the change he hopes to bring to the Country. Mr Friedman's main argument is to warn us not to just accept the election as enough change, but to make sure there is follow through on the promise of change. He harkens back to Americas early days and shows that during periods of great hardship, true leaders arise to redefine what it means to be an American citizen.
Although he gives examples of change by former leaders and the accomplishments they've made he warns us at the end of the article.
He ends by stating that although we have elected a radically new President, this does not guarantee an automatic radical change from anything we've experienced before.
