OK, I was challenged by some on iReports to say something nice about President Obama as they seem to feel I dislike the man on a personal level. Far from it, but it was a fair request, so here goes.

I feel President Obama is one of the smartest and most intelligent presidents we have had in recent memory. He is a great orator and can deliver a speech with a panache and vitality that few can match. When doing so, he holds the audience’s attention to every word he says with his dynamic and powerful delivery. As anyone knows who does any public speaking, this is very difficult to do.

I feel he is a loving husband to Michelle and a wonderful father to Malia Ann and Sasha (Natasha). He is a definite role model for many across this nation and the world.

I feel he truly wants what’s best for the nation; I do not think he wants to ruin this nation and send it into oblivion. I do think many of his policies are wrong; however, that is not the purpose of this post. So here goes, oh, and please notice that not one of the references are from Fox News; I know how even the mere mention of that name can send some into apoplectic fits:

1 - Obama upholds Bush faith policy - It seemed like a firm campaign promise. Barack Obama pledged to continue President Bush's faith-based office in the White House, but with a key change: Groups receiving federal money would no longer be allowed to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion. On Thursday, however, as President Obama disclosed the details of his faith-based program, he left the controversial Bush policy in place. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/06/nation/na-obama-faith6

2 – Obama approves Afghanistan troop increase - President Barack Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. The new troop deployment is expected to include 8,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as well as 4,000 additional Army troops from Fort Lewis, Washington. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/obama.troops/index.html

3 - Obama Administration Upholds Bush Polar Bear Rule - Saying the Endangered Species Act is not the right tool to control global warming, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that he will leave in place a special rule created by the Bush administration that limits protections for the polar bear under the Act. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2009/2009-05-08-02.asp

4 - Obama's team upholds Bush decision to keep grey wolves off endangered list - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday the Obama administration will let stand a last-minute Bush administration decision that would remove the gray wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species. http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=4088

5 - Obama Administration Maintains Bush Position on 'Extraordinary Rendition' Lawsuit - The Obama Administration today announced that it would keep the same position as the Bush Administration in the lawsuit Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/obama-administr.html

6 – Obama Upholds Bush Detainee Policy in Afghanistan - The Obama administration has told a federal judge that military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their imprisonment there, embracing a key argument of former President Bush’s legal team. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/washington/22bagram.html

7 – Obama Administration Upholds Ban on Muslim Scholar - The ACLU has championed the case of Swiss Muslim Tariq Ramadan, an Oxford University professor and a vocal critic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, who has been barred first by the Bush Administration from entering the United States on the grounds national security concerns, and that decision has now been upheld by the Obama administration. http://gods4suckers.net/archives/2009/03/26/obama-administration-upholds-ban-on-muslim-scholar/

8 - Obama adopts Bush view on the powers of the presidency. - The Obama Justice Department has adopted a legal stance identical to, if not more aggressive than, the Bush version. It argues that the court-forced disclosure of the surveillance programs would cause "exceptional harm to national security" by exposing intelligence sources and methods. Last Friday the Ninth Circuit denied the latest emergency motion to dismiss, again kicking matters back to Judge Walker. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638765474658467.html

9 - Obama White House Sticks to Bush Policy on secret visitor records - The Obama administration is declining to release documents that would identify visitors to the White House, embracing a legal position taken by the Bush administration, according to a watchdog group that filed a federal lawsuit over access to the records. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/2009_06_17_Obama_White_House_sticks_to_Bush_policy_on_secret_visitor_records/

10 - Obama: U.S. to withdraw most Iraq troops by August 2010 - President Obama said Friday he plans to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of August 2010. Between 35,000 to 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq, he said. They would be withdrawn gradually until all U.S. forces are out of Iraq by December 31, 2011 -- the deadline set under an agreement the Bush administration signed with the Iraqi government last year. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/27/obama.troops/index.html

Fair enough?