As I watched the inauguration this morning I was intrigued by several things.
What was going through the mind of President Bush? Certainly it was a blend of thoughts and emotions. A sadness to be leaving a position that he must have loved more deeply than any of us can imagine. Not because of the power or the perks but for the love of his nation and we the people he called, “my fellow Americans.”
I am not a political pundit. I am ignorant of politics and the workings of partisan government influence. But I think I know a man when I see one. A real man. A man not of polish or pretense, but a man who cared more about doing the right thing than merely saying the right words. A real man who was willing to do the right thing regardless of how unpopular the decision.
Like you I was amused by the misspeaks and verbal gaffs uttered by the 43rd president. To say he was not a gifted speaker is to say that Gilligan was not a great sailor.
But when George W. Bush spoke in the National Cathedral following September 11, 2001 you knew he was speaking with genuine emotion, genuine grief and genuine resolve. When he spoke by executive order and appealed to the nation for support, as he called us to war against the terrorist that were harbored in Afghanistan and Iraq, what he lacked in eloquence he made up for in resolve and conviction.
History may judge my president poorly for the result and the recovery of Iraq. But a man cannot make a nation choose freedom and liberty and democracy, he can only give them a choice. And he gave them a choice.
My new president is gifted at speaking and demeanor. He is very intelligent and inspiring. But he like his predecessor, is faced with a great challenge that threatens the very fiber of our nation.
He is faced with a new enemy. The enemy is not foreign but domestic. Its weapons are not military but are monetary. Our new president has been given the great challenge of overcoming consumerism and greed.
President Obama must lead our nation beyond the intoxication of riches and the allusion of wealth without work. He must lead us to rise above selfishness and indulgence.
He as any president is charged with leading our great nation. If we are to prove we are a great nation then we must choose to follow. We will not all agree on every decision that he makes. But we must remember one man cannot make our nation great. He can only offer us a choice.
A choice to live within our means. The chance to choose to measure our wealth and our worth not by the mirage of Wall Street but by the true sweat of American ingenuity. Where people do a fair day’s work for a fair days wage to produce a product of which everyone can be proud.
President Obama is what every president before him has been. Just a man with great responsibility thrust upon him because he was willing to serve. We the people must choose to pray for him. Encourage him. Follow him as much and as far as we can. At best he will be able to lead and offer us a good choice…but we the people must make the choice.
