Dear President Obama:

I’ve had many of my “non-conservative” friends ask me what I expect of our President.  I expect him (or her) to make promises they intend on keeping.  I expect honesty, consistency and yes, religious faith.  Political rhetoric and party affiliation put aside for a moment, I would like to list the things that I wanted you to accomplish in your first term as the President of the United States; the highest office in our free country:

1. Encourage our people through patriotism and defending our country.  Bowing to other leaders, not saluting the flag and speaking negatively of our country does not represent our country in the way we expect our leader to conduct himself.  If you weren’t proud of this country, then WHY did you run to be President?
2. Cut back on spending.  MOST of us that attempt to live within a budget get rid of the extra expenses like espressos, entertainment and vacations when we’re cutting back.  We don’t get new credit cards; max them out by giving money to our friends and then expect others to pay them off while vacationing and spending more than we make.
3. Show more honesty and be more respectable than anyone else in the country.  Don’t hide your financial records, college transcripts and identification documents.  If you want us to respect you, show us you can be trusted.
4. We all make mistakes.  Own up to yours and find a way to make them better.  Don’t blame them on someone else.
5. Don’t tell us to cut back and spend less and then expect us to throw more money into taxes while you and your wife take expensive vacations, wear expensive clothing and travel to exotic places. 
6.  Don’t complain that the media incorrectly context your words, actions or press releases.  Welcome to technology.  If you said it, thanks to technology, someone will have it on video with written transcripts before your press secretary can spin it differently.
7. Don’t expect you deserve time off just because you work hard.  We elected you to work harder, smarter and longer than all of us.
8. Donate all proceeds from your speaking engagements and books to a charitable organization (or several) of your choice.  This would have shown good faith that you mean what you say about social justice and taking care of others less fortunate.
9. Cut off financial aid to all countries that we are constantly bailing out of trouble.  If they haven’t paid off old loans, they don’t deserve new money.  If they don’t appreciate the United States, our prosperity and our “standards”, then we’re happy to call in our loans and they can be free of the burden of our military, economic and social benefits to their countries.
10. End our ridiculous association with the UN and other world concern organizations that only hinder our relationships with other countries and drain our finances and power.
11. Don’t bail out companies that should fail.  The banks and the car companies that got in over their heads by faulty, illegal or bad business practices shouldn’t be rewarded for their poor choices. 
12. Privatize medical coverage.  By this I mean that doctors and their companies should be allowed to determine their costs and who they’ll provide services to.  Medicine is a business just like banking and auto manufacturing.  My mechanic doesn’t have an issue working this way.  If I don’t like it, I go to another mechanic.  No insurance company should be able to tell me what procedures I can have performed.  If Doctors were able to take care of their patients instead of worrying about acceptable procedures, they’d have a lot more time to care for the patients that need it and at prices that would be more affordable to everyone.
13. Support your religious values and stick by them.  If you’re going to quote the Bible, then stick with the entire Bible.  Don’t pick and choose which parts you like and which parts you don’t.  Don’t change your mind mid-stream about your convictions. 
14. Repeal and destroy “No Child Left Behind”.  There are educational standards that every child should have to meet on an annual basis and they are pretty easy to define.  Children either know it or they don’t.  Those that don’t need help.  Those that need help can receive it from a variety of private resources. 
15. Declare English as the only language in our country.  Do away with multi-lingual mandates that confuse and lessen the power of our communication.  They can speak all the languages they want privately and with their friends but if they can’t speak or read English, then they can’t get a driver’s license or a job or obtain citizenship. 
16. Close the borders.  People who came here illegally (without proper documentation) need to be sent back to their country.  People who are here legally, but have not completed their citizenship documentation need to be approved for citizenship or sent back.  Fix the immigration/citizenship process so that people who follow the process and abide by our laws become citizens speedily.  Send the criminals back to where they came from.

If you had been able to keep any of your promises, and accomplished some of the items above, I might have considered voting for you this November.  Through your constant contempt and disregard of your promises, you have shown continuous contempt and disregard for your country and its people. 

This is what I'll be expecting of the candidate I vote for in November.  Will the “next guy” be any better?  I can only hope so.