Years ago a well known Christian leader told me that a day was coming when whoever became President of the United States of America would regret it. We may very well be there now. If President-elect Obama demanded a recount some time next year, it would not surprise me. It is unlikely to happen, but in the privacy of the White House it could easily be a topic of melancholy discussion.
Mr. Obama ran a campaign of vision and promises, most of which will not come true. I do not question his sincerity or his will to make them happen. The simple truth is that this nation has dug itself into a set of gigantic holes. Only major sacrifices over a serious period of time, coupled with significant cultural-spiritual repentance on behalf of the entire nation, can hope to recover the superpower status we briefly enjoyed. In many ways, the future of this nation hangs in the balance. No president will turn it around by himself, and it is highly unlikely that either of the candidates had the skill sets or values to match the unprecedented challenges.
The inspiring result of electing an African-American president is a wonderful capstone to a long and courageous march for this nation in terms of a triumph over racism and our slavery-stained history. But ethnicity carries no “magic wand,” and the nation’s economic challenges, moral collapses, military and foreign policy crises could care less concerning the skin color of anyone sitting in the Oval Office. Both the Republicans and the Democrats share responsibility, and Mr. Bush is no more to blame than the Democrat-controlled Congress that accompanied him over the last set of years. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Democrats who controlled them, carry similar responsibility for the sub prime housing defaults as the greedy home loan charlatans who wrote the fraudulent loans.
From my standpoint, the presidential debates were exercises in superficial thinking and sound-bite rhetoric, orchestrated by campaign managers who are convinced that the American people are stupid and incapable of dealing with “hard truth.” Well, they are going to have to deal with it now, and it will not “blow over” quickly. Riddled with personal and national debt, we may finally get to some real discussions over the foundations of our economic system and our national pre-occupation with “personal rights” and hardcore secularism.
Remember the child’s game called, “musical chairs”? When the music stopped, somebody was left with no place to sit. God have both mercy and strong control over you, Mr. Obama; I think you’ve been left standing.
Dennis Peacock.
Mr. Obama ran a campaign of vision and promises, most of which will not come true. I do not question his sincerity or his will to make them happen. The simple truth is that this nation has dug itself into a set of gigantic holes. Only major sacrifices over a serious period of time, coupled with significant cultural-spiritual repentance on behalf of the entire nation, can hope to recover the superpower status we briefly enjoyed. In many ways, the future of this nation hangs in the balance. No president will turn it around by himself, and it is highly unlikely that either of the candidates had the skill sets or values to match the unprecedented challenges.
The inspiring result of electing an African-American president is a wonderful capstone to a long and courageous march for this nation in terms of a triumph over racism and our slavery-stained history. But ethnicity carries no “magic wand,” and the nation’s economic challenges, moral collapses, military and foreign policy crises could care less concerning the skin color of anyone sitting in the Oval Office. Both the Republicans and the Democrats share responsibility, and Mr. Bush is no more to blame than the Democrat-controlled Congress that accompanied him over the last set of years. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Democrats who controlled them, carry similar responsibility for the sub prime housing defaults as the greedy home loan charlatans who wrote the fraudulent loans.
From my standpoint, the presidential debates were exercises in superficial thinking and sound-bite rhetoric, orchestrated by campaign managers who are convinced that the American people are stupid and incapable of dealing with “hard truth.” Well, they are going to have to deal with it now, and it will not “blow over” quickly. Riddled with personal and national debt, we may finally get to some real discussions over the foundations of our economic system and our national pre-occupation with “personal rights” and hardcore secularism.
Remember the child’s game called, “musical chairs”? When the music stopped, somebody was left with no place to sit. God have both mercy and strong control over you, Mr. Obama; I think you’ve been left standing.
Dennis Peacock.
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