It’s official: Barack Hussein Obama is our President. Here’s hoping that he is a good president, and a wise leader. In these times especially, he needs prayer and support in the same way Bush and his predecessors did – there is no job tougher than the presidency. Please note that when I say support, I do not mean devotion, and I do not mean blind trust, and I do not mean that we should support all his beliefs or actions; however as President it is he who stands at the helm of this great ship called America, and wishing ill on the captain of the ship you’re riding on is at best foolish.
No, we can pray for our President. We can hope he succeeds in bringing America to new levels of prosperity and freedom. We can do that while opposing his policies and methods that he has laid out so far, hoping that he will become wiser in office and come to understand some of the harsh realities he has – at least apparently – so far avoided.
As for the ceremony itself, I didn’t watch it on TV, because I simply cannot stand watching the people who now constitute the broadcast media teams. Instead, I read the speech, and watched a couple of clips. While most of it is the typical fluff that has been the vast majority of his speeches so far, there were a couple comments that caught my attention as possibly betraying Obama as someone who has already learned a thing or two.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
This is harder, tougher talk than I have seen from him in the past, and hopefully it is a sign of a more realistic and mature leader, who is now realizing that there are much larger fundamental issues here than just what can be seen at the negotiation table.
That said, the rest of the speech left a lot to be desired. Sure, we have the typical grandiose promises every politician makes – but some of his rhetoric stretched beyond ambitious into the realm of absurdity. His promise to the third world that he would “make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow” sounded like the statement of a man who believes himself a prophet, and not the statement of a responsible political leader. My personal favorite quote was “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories” – I think I saw a SciFi original movie about that one.
And of course, it would not be a modern political speech without a little bashing of the last president, with comments such as promising to “restore science to its rightful place,” and that we are finally ready to “lead once more” – as if it hasn’t been America doing the only thing even resembling leading in the last decade or so.
So, I see hints of some good, and reminders of the bad, all veiled in a lot of fluff. Here’s hoping we can get down to the meat soon with President Obama, and that when tested, he makes the wise choice – not just for his own good, but for the good of the country.
Good luck, Mr. President. I’ll be praying for you.