Think Before You Speak

The word "success" can mean something different to everyone. It depends on your goals. If my goal is to drive from New York to California, I can claim the trip was a success if I arrive in California, regardless of how long it took and how much it cost to get me there.
There are Republicans left and right who keep saying that they want President Obama to be successful and I have to confess that I don't know what that means. There are two basic reasons for my confusion.
First, I don't know what Obama's goals are. Does he want the war in Iraq to end in victory, or just end? Does he want America's economy to be stronger and healthier, or is it just an excuse to grow the government? Does he want America's health care system to be the envy of the world, or would he be just as happy to see it nationalized even if that exacerbates the problem instead of solving it?
Second, I don't know how Obama measures success. Would he describe the expenditure of a trillion dollars on an economic stimulus plan a success, or does it have to actually stimulate the economy? Will he point at the establishment of a shiny, new government agency and call that a success, or does the agency have to meet its objectives? In four years, will he look back at the actions taken as evidence of success, or will he point to the effects of those actions as evidence of success.
I can't honestly say that I want Obama to succeed until I understand what that means. Judging from what I know of him and his career in Chicago, I can tell you that I will probably never want Obama to succeed because success for Obama is failure for America.
I also don't trust anyone who blindly states that they want someone who campaigned on changing the nation to succeed. Especially considering the fact that we really have no idea what it is that he wants to change. If he wants to nationalize health care; I hope he fails. If he wants to cut taxes; I hope he succeeds. If he wants to throw more money at a failing education system; I hope he fails. If he wants to fundamentally change the system by introducing vouchers and privatizing huge chunks of it; I hope he succeeds.
Judging from his rhetoric, his past, his known ideology, and his political tactics; I am not ashamed to tell you that, for the most part, I hope Obama's presidency is a breathtaking, earth-shattering, history-making failure.