It's been one year since America voted for Change

It's has been one year since millions of Americans from across the country flocked to the polls and overwhelmingly voted for change in a nation and world that so desperately needed it. Now the only question remaining since Barack Obama's historic election is 'how has America changed?'

On the surface it is easy to see how Obama has changed us as a nation: the mood, our optimism, a renewed self-belief in ourselves and our status around the world has all changed with our decision to elect the most popular public figure in the world. I think we often forget about these obvious changes in the face of Obama's struggles to change the failed policies of the last eight years because we are living it and not just observing it like the rest of the world. But when you talk to foreigners about today's America compared to that of the Bush administration, there is no hiding their excitement over all the possibilities that could evolve out of America in the future.

However, as Americans we are not outsiders and we are the people who actually are living the change that has come to our nation, so it is understandable all of the backlash that has faced the young president - especially when there is a small group of nuts out there who would argue the sky is red if Obama said it were blue. But some people will never be happy as long as Obama is president, much like many liberals would have never been happy as long as Bush was president - although I like to think we gave him more of a chance.

But for many of us who voted for Obama, America might not seem much different considering the two wars continue to wage on overseas, jobs continue to be lost and health care continues to kill thousands of Americans every day. But in time all of these issues will be resolved and Obama not only believes this, he knows it. I too know it to be true because by the 2010 elections America will be withdrawing troops from Iraq and turning over power to the Iraqi government, the economy, which is already showing signs of improvement, will start to create more jobs as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act continues to be spent, and we should have a health care package that, public option or not, will help to save thousands of lives through regulation and expanded care.

Of course while the president struggles to make the right decision to resolve all of these major dilemma's that Bush not only in many instances created, but failed to resolve, he has also instituted the kind of change which we can all see, including the closing of Guantanamo Bay, the repudiation of Bush's tax cuts for the rich and policy that limited federal funding for stem cell research, appointed the most diverse and bipartisan cabinet in American history and nominated the first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court.

On top of these fundamental changes, Obama has promised to repeal 'don't ask don't tell,' rid the world of nuclear arms and offer diplomatic talks to resolve some of the major issues dividing America, its allies and its adversaries around the world. And while America will always come first, Obama is also looking to the future of working in a more globalized world.

So while the haters out there continue to rip on our new leader for not bringing about what in their minds constitutes as "immediate change," which he never promised in the first place, the notion that Obama has failed to change anything is like saying Bush changed America for the better, which any way you look at it is not the case.