Catch-22

So, I don't know about you, but as happy as I am about Obama's win, it is tempered by real concerns over what he has ahead of him. As much as I believe in him as a leader, there is a big part of me that would not wish this job on anyone, much less someone I like. So, there it is. I want him to be my leader, but I don't want him to have to deal with all the attendant headaches. There are certainly perks to the job, but in all seriousness, why would someone want to be President of the U.S.? Power, glamour, privilege alongside a devastated economy; tremendous public debt; difficult relations with Iran, Venezuela and even now Pakistan; increasing difficulties in Afghanistan; neverending violence and blood shed in Iraq not to mention all the other skirmishes, humanitarian and ecological nightmares dotting the globe. These are not soft and easy times to run a country, much less the previously acknowledged leader of the free world. Although, frankly, that designation has been tarnished under our current leadership and his freewheeling, unitary ways that have served to alienate longstanding allies and further ignite enmity among our enemies and in some cases among our friends. This is not fun. I wish him and his family the best, but more importantly I choose to pray for him. I pray for wisdom, discernment, good counsel and strength. He will certainly need all these and much more to tackle the job ahead. But, maybe like Esther, "for such a time as this" he has been put in place to show the type of strength and leadership that is necessary to rechart America's course. Only time will tell.

I have had discussions with McCain supporters who, though appreciating the enormity of what it means to have elected a black man as President, feel that he has a huge task set before him due to extremely high expectations as a result of promises made in the campaign and due to his iconic status that is reminiscent of JFK. Certainly he will make some mistakes along the way, but the true test of leadership is how he handles his mistakes: taking responsibility or pointing fingers? hiding behind executive privilege and finding convenient scape goats or owning up to his shortcomings? All in all, we as the American people have a responsibility to allow him to be human although we desperately want him to strive for the best and we must keep his feet to the fire in this, while allowing for grace along the way.