He's not perfect, but give Obama his due

There seems to be two major schools of thought concerning the presidency of Barack Obama. There are the haters who insist he hates America and is doing everything he can to destroy the country. They insist that everything he has done is wrong. Then there are those who say he is the greatest president ever. They shout, "Four more years" at every opportunity.

Both groups are dead wrong. Like Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Obama made mistakes, but he also did a lot of good. I won't dwell on either except to say that he did take over when the country was on the verge of collapse.

Presiding over the world's largest and most successful democracy is a daunting task, even in the best of times. Decisions often must be made not knowing how our detractors will respond. It's much like a football game. The coach sends in a well-thought-out play, knowing full well the opposition will do whatever it takes to see it fail.

The hard core members of the haters refuse to acknowledge that progress has been made in the past eight years and won't even admit that the economy, while still in need of improvement, is far better than it was eight years ago. I, not being a member of either group, commend him for keeping the country afloat after the most trying times since the great depression.

Ron Flowers

Elk Grove Village