Public Office of the TimTurner/ChristianMan Administration

[Punxsutawney Phil]

Making this now.
Inaugural will be posted later today.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

Dear Atlasians,

In the annals of our great Republic there have been periods of time where studious and careful stewardship has been in force. We were in such a period of time under Spiral, whose two terms in office have left a high bar that few men could hope to equal, let alone surpass. It is evident that he was a man of great ability and he will likely be greatly remembered by future Atlasians as a steady man at the ship of the state. His legacy of relative calm is one that represents a high form of inheritance, one from which we all benefit. Spiral is a great man and a great president and while he may not be the best leader we've had in all time, for there are in fact even greater men who held the high office, he certainly holds that title when one limits consideration to those who have held the office in recent times.

I have a good relationship with Spiral that goes back more than half a decade. When Spiral ran for regional governor in the South, I did private messaging for him. The esteemed President is a man I trust. When he asked me to step aside from the Attorney General job I had held for around a year I did so without complaint. When he ran for re-election I voted for him. When I declared my candidacy I made it clear I would drop out if he declared himself in the running for another term. I have consulted him on issues of state importance already and I will continue to consult him as I see fit moving forward. I'm from Texas. A great Texan who like me got fame for a long tenure in legislative leadership once said that, you cannot be a leader and ask people to follow you if you don't know how to follow, too. As a follower of Spiral I have dwelled in his shadow and now that I sit in what was once his chair I will strive to reach something close to his standard, even if I harbor doubt that something that lofty can realistically be achieved. And in that capacity I will strive to follow his example and be an able and worthy leader of men. The people of Atlasia deserve nothing less.

Government is a cooperative project between people in their various places, with individual relations between players having their role and those who have attained high office having a duty to serve the public need. Differences can and do exist obviously, and politics is an arena where complete uniformity is neither desirable nor organically attainable. Debate is part of Atlasia and it is only natural there is disagreement. Regardless, people have a right to ask for a functional government. It is of great importance that people of all parties be willing to work with each other as needed for the good of the country. And it is important that such willingness exist. As President it's critical to do what one can to seek to keep such conditions ripe. And working diligently towards that end is a good thing to do, broadly speaking. Atlasians should be ready to work together for the sake of the common good in times of crisis and be willing to set aside their differences for the sake of the country.

Indeed, diligence is a virtue, is it not? One cannot necessarily predict the future, and the future eludes easy prognostication, but that doesn't mean that a good governing ethos isn't valuable. It is. And such an ethos is not just what Spiral had, but also what I aspire to have as well, to the greatest of my ability, within the bounds of what my job entails. The presidency is a duty, and from the people themselves, on those who wield it there is a trust, a trust by which one ought to consider in their decisions; and noble service for sake of the people is a platonic ideal that is not always achievable in full but always worthy aspiring towards. We may not know what the future holds, but we should seek to preserve the value of sincere duty and perform to our abilities. I've always felt dutifulness deep in my soul and I will seek to toil on behalf of all Atlasians. Those who didn't vote for me, and those who did, are owed the rewards of such in equal measure; we may vote for our preferred candidates but we come together as one game.

Willingness to make tough decisions when they are so necessary is a virtue and is a trait of great leaders through time, on all continents. This is especially so when a life-or-death situation has presented itself. Should god forbid such a situation be presented before me by fate I shall summon my talents and consult and make the best decision. The duty presented by leadership is something that weighs on the shoulders, and as the risk of the situation increases that weight only gets heavier. In relative terms it can go from weighing as much as a feather, to having a weight on par with that of an elephant; life is unpredictable and so are our futures. None of this uncertainty negates the duty placed, rightfully, on those in leadership roles, all throughout our political system. I cannot be entirely sure of much, but what I can say is that I will seek to provide the best handling of problems, drawing on my vast wealth of experience.

In the meantime, I impel all of us to continue playing our proper roles and continue bringing vitality to our politics. There have been bumps, but there's also instances of coming together, and that's a balance between doldrums and chaos that we should continue to keep to. Meanwhile, we should evaluate how to make life better for those who put in the work and strengthen the country through their work in particular, and to reward earnest toil. We shall see where such improvements can be made and improve on them. Human government may be imperfectible because humans are imperfect, but that doesn't mean that good can't be done. We shall all work for the benefit of the people and let their satisfaction be part of our reward.

The people deserve politics that keep cohesion in the country, and they deserve cohesion-minded leaders who will defend the common good. They deserve a government run by people will work together for their common interest's sake and they deserve stewardship that befits what we are capable of given our great past and decent present. I will shoulder on the burdens of the job and work to try to preserve that ethos, as left to us by the great two-time winner and elder statesman Spiral himself, seeking to avoid excessive self-pity and maintain prudent restraint, as what befits the great power of the office. People are owed stability and reliability. Dave Bless the Atlasian people, who elected me and put me where I am now, to whom I owe my career in public service. Dave Bless you all. The work is just beginning, and it's starting off with me smiling to myself, knowing what we are all capable of. Together with my wonderful running mate Christian Man and the people sitting in office alongside me we shall continue to conduct ourselves in the spirit of studious duty. Again, Dave Bless you all and good night.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

In the wake of the departure of SoFE Battista Minola, my office is now taking applications for the job. Applicants should shoot me a PM on the forum or a DM on Discord expressing desire to serve in the job.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

If he is willing, then I encourage the President to have Wulfric take over as SOFE full time rather than interim. He's certainly done a good job keeping track with DDNN over the years, and I expect he's probably the best experienced person who could serve now unless Peebs somehow returned.

[Joseph Cao]

If he is willing, then I encourage the President to have Wulfric take over as SOFE full time rather than interim. He's certainly done a good job keeping track with DDNN over the years, and I expect he's probably the best experienced person who could serve now unless Peebs somehow returned.

You know, quite aside from the Wulfric math, I am suddenly reminded of the last time an Attorney General adopted the powers of the SoFE…

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

If he is willing, then I encourage the President to have Wulfric take over as SOFE full time rather than interim. He's certainly done a good job keeping track with DDNN over the years, and I expect he's probably the best experienced person who could serve now unless Peebs somehow returned.

You know, quite aside from the Wulfric math, I am suddenly reminded of the last time an Attorney General adopted the powers of the SoFE…

That's a fair worry. I just don't know who's possible for the position otherwise.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

If he is willing, then I encourage the President to have Wulfric take over as SOFE full time rather than interim. He's certainly done a good job keeping track with DDNN over the years, and I expect he's probably the best experienced person who could serve now unless Peebs somehow returned.

You know, quite aside from the Wulfric math, I am suddenly reminded of the last time an Attorney General adopted the powers of the SoFE…

That's a fair worry. I just don't know who's possible for the position otherwise.

I am continuing to search for someone to fill the position full-time. Wulfric and I have discussed the need to avoid inappropriate dual office occupancy and we agree it's important he not hold the position for too long.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

I congratulate Sirius on being confirmed and I express my wishes for a happy tenure in this highly important job going forward.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

The first bill signed into law by this administration is directly in line with the campaign promises I made to voters. Rewarding hard work and earnest labor is a noble goal and I'm proud to advance it by signing this bill into law. The work of countless hundreds of millions of Atlasians will be further dignified by this bill. I have signed the Raise the Wage Act into law.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

Congratulations to all the winners. Thanks to all those who lost regardless for taking their part in the process.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

A farewell speech will be posted sometime in the past nine hours or so. Too late, I know, but it'll happen.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

Dear Atlasians,

There is an inherent variousness in life that can extend to one's own fortunes. As a man who stood for election in Southern gubernatorial races, won and lost gubernatorial elections, legislative elections, and so on, and also won and now lost on national level, indeed there is a certain sense of deja vu one can feel. I've even unexpectedly been given, and then lost, positions with occupants that serve at the pleasure of the President of Atlasia. Loss is a part of life and so is victory. I want to say that, as a starting message to all who know deep within themselves the truth that, as the old saying goes, "fate is a cruel mistress", that when elections go the wrong way in your view, when your team loses, and the change of the guard occurs, that failure to prevail in a given circumstance should not by itself be cause for thinking that all is lost for all time.  Of course, there is a place for compromise, for working together, and it's something that I have mentioned while in public life many times. I'll get to that soon enough. But the main point here is that, regardless of how down you are at a given time, do remember that the pendulum swings back eventually. The winning team this time was from a minority faction that was able to prevail off highly skilled politicking and seizing of opportunities. In politics, there is a broad sense of the broad range of the possibilities, and those who understand that best tend to have the most success.

In my long career in public life I have worked with many people from various tendencies in a number of capacities. Yes, there have been struggles, there have always been some room for conflict if and when certain lines are crossed. But likewise, there is also room for agreement. And most important is maintaining governance being in a space that does give some leeway for most to feel respected, at least heard and understood. Bringing people together when it matters the most is in fact an important part of a functioning political system. There must be some basis for something that's shared, recognized as such, or else the whole thing doesn't really work at all. And especially critical is an understanding of the sheer weight of one's office. Those who seek to trample over the shared understanding of how the system works. If all that you see from elected officials is the pursuing of vendettas, that is hardly conductive to a good government. We need a government that will do its part to solve the problems of the people, to the extent that they may be feasibly solved at all. Restraint in exercising one's power onto others is also generally wise; the last thing the people of Atlasia need is an aimless despotism that tramples on its opponents just because. As President I showed great restraint in exercising such power, acting with considerable deference to the Senate. Of course, an assertive executive can be what the times need. And indeed people did vote for a more assertive executive. But an assertive president also should seek to use their power with some care. Individual judgement matters for much in these sorts of things. It is important for any president, no matter their party affiliation or base, to understand it is their job to act with the common good of all the people as a collective mass, not plunge it into a massive crisis for fun and memes. And that is a principle that is of utmost importance.

Being President is a very weighty job, and I need not detail the great powers of this executive office. I will just say that when I first ran, I didn't really think or expect the experience I actually got. I did know, when I was running, of just how powerful the office really was; I myself have faced the brunt of such an office's authority during a constitutional crisis. But I didn't fully expect just how little things might actually change for me in regards to workload. It was a sign of the times, of the great inactivity that our game has had. The game was in fact fairly quiet. The busiest thing as with staffing executive-appointed positions, where I did do weighty work in helping keep things afloat, work that I categorize as humble duty fulfilling my promises to the people, more than anything else. It is a bit of a shame that the game I had to work with was in the relative doldrums as it was; not a huge amount was done on Senate level, in either of the two Senates I had. I weighed using referendum powers, but opted against it. Evidently though, one should not take all this as a sign that this wasn't important or weighty. It, indeed, is. And I'm proud I have had the chance to do it on behalf of the people for a single term. Both the people who took their chance on me, and those who didn't. I am thankful for the opportunity and I do want to highlight that work to make the game healthier should not stop and will not stop. Aspiring for some kind of improvement, where it can be achieved, is in fact important to avoid total stagnation.

As such, I will continue to serve in the executive branch going forward, in the same spirit of duty lit by the same flame that has spurred me on before. The people deserve good public servants and just as I served as Attorney General in the wake of a crisis some years ago, as a professional figure in an importance place, I feel it is important the federal government have people willing to look at this great public calling for what it is - a very sacred trust. No matter how the elections side of the game goes, it is key to have people serious about duty and constructive work in positions of responsibility.

Onto the issue of leadership going forward: as the great Sam Rayburn from my home state of Texas once said, "You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow, too". I started off as someone who simply served as a brick in Labor votebanks, before becoming a legislator and a long-term Speaker, much like Sam Rayburn himself in some ways, though I doubt even Adam Griffin could equal him in sheer talent and ability in inspiring people to get behind him...which makes men like Rayburn very hard to find. I do not need to bore you by talking once again about my long career in excessive detail, but let it be said that those who have sufficient knowledge of what makes these sorts of things work, like I did after countless years of government experience helped prepare me for being president, are probably most likely to serve as a successor to the torch I've left behind. For the maybe fifteenth time the position I hold on that continuum (leader-follower) has moved past the half-way mark to the other side, and it is likely that going forward, it'll stay there for some time.

In a number of hours I will cease to serve as your President as my term will have ended. As such, I am now going to speak to you as a fellow citizen. It is true that human government cannot be completely perfected. However, as noted previously, improvement where it can be made, done many times over, is a very powerful thing. And we should not lose our sense of aspiration for a game that works, no matter what obstacles come in the way and stop that from being realized. Perseverence. That's a good trait, most of the time. As a fellow citizen, let me be completely clear - the work to get the game back up to its former glory is far from over. Let's work together and find common ground when we can, while still maintaining a sense of our own dignity of course. Let's fix Atlasia. The relative doldrums that we have seen are not an ideal and I do think we can do better. We shall seek to correct this predicament in which we are in, as the closest thing to a North Star that we've got. There will definitely be brawls, there will definitely be disagreements, but at the end of the day, the goal ought to be restoring this game to an activity level well above what we've got now, a sustainable level which puts winds in the sails of joy and fun that the game has given so many people over the years. As of the time I'm saying this I'll be President still, and this is an opportunity I've been greatly honored to have been given by the people. Presidents do need to maintain some sort of pageantry. Sadly our Order of the Star of Atlasia awards had not been given in years, forcing me to do a large amount of catch-up! Needless to say, as President I must uphold tradition and do what my predecessors did, but all those presidents became private citizens once they left office, and that is something I am now doing as well.

And speaking as a citizen, let me say...as a people we should never give up on the courage to try to get something better or preserve what good we presently have. We should retain the ability to dream. We should continue to demand things and partake in the process to the extent we are able. A better game is reliant in some way on everyone, and the chance for redressing our most significant problems lies ahead of us. We need to grasp it with both our hands, lest we will fail to achieve what we want, as a country. Elected officials may be important purveyors of action, but the spine of the system is and will always be the people themselves. I thank you all for your support over the years and ask all of you to consider that we shall grasp the moment for what it is - an opportunity. An opportunity to beat back woes we've long struggled with and/or have been beaten back only with great effort from the most talented of organizers, on all sides. Shall we try hard enough, well..."atarashii asa kanarazu kuru sa", a new morning shall surely come.

(P.S. please don't forget to celebrate Language Learning Day)