Who would want to be President? It’s difficult not to after watching an episode of The West Wing (actually, I’d like to be Leo McGarry), but watching the news quickly dispels those ambitions. A week, they say, is a long time in politics. 5th November feels like a lifetime ago. On that day, in downtown Chicago, Barack Obama declared to an adoring crowd of 125,000 that ‘change has come to America’.
So is he living up to expectations? The challenges confronting Obama are the greatest confronting any president since the Great Depression. Ultimately, only history will decide whether his economic plan kick-started recovery or merely stimulated more spending and more debt. In relation to national security and foreign policy, Obama has ordered the closure of the
He has certainly made mistakes. The nomination of Tom Daschle, Obama’s top choice to reform health care, was a serious error of judgement. Daschle later ‘stepped down’ after financial irregularities were exposed. His approach to bioethics is a source of concern. Obama acted quickly to lift the ban on embryonic stem-cell research and to end the rule preventing government-funded international ‘family planning’ groups from promoting abortion.
What should we make of all this? We should avoid either idolising or demonising politicians. The challenge for everyone – public and politicians alike – is to recognise the limits of politics and the nature of the human condition. It’s tough being president. It’s easy to be cynical about those in power, but it’s a high and honourable ambition to lead a country. So, let’s temper our critique with admiration, and that goes for George Bush too.
This article first appeared in Christianity Magazine in May 2009.
