IJII

Today marks the inauguration of a new American President, Barack Obama.

A year ago, it did not seem very likely that Mr. Obama would or could be elected President. He was relatively young and inexperienced; he was a member of a racial minority group; he was opposed by "big name" candidates who seemed to have considerably more political clout.

And yet, he won the election, and became a new symbol of "the American dream"--an outsider of humble origins who reached the top of the American pyramid. How did he achieve this monumental success?

Surely he is a man of great talent, charisma, eloquence, intelligence, political know-how. But there are many others who also have wonderful qualities of leadership.

I believe that he won the Presidency because he not only had the right talents, but because he had a message that resonated with the American public. He spoke of change, of idealism, of new beginnings. Yes, these words all have the ring of campaign rhetoric. Do they really mean anything significant, or are they just empty slogans? Enough American voters thought these words really mean something significant. They believed that Mr. Obama was expressing ideas he genuinely felt, and that he had the ability to take on the governmental bureaucracies and bring about improvements in our national life.

Mr. Obama trusted that the American public shared his basic vision for our country--a country of freedom and equality, a country of opportunity and great strength, a country that could do the right thing if it set its mind to the task.  It remains to be seen how effective he will be as President,  how his national and international policies will unfold. Yet, one thing is certain: he became President because he was able to tap into the ideals and aspirations of large numbers of Americans. The "average" American proved stronger than political pundits and power brokers.

Whether we supported Mr. Obama's candidacy or not, we all should be wishing him well in his leadership of our country. We pray that his Presidency will strengthen America in every way, and will create new opportunities for genuine peace in the world.

• Login or register to post comments
• 
• Printer-friendly version