President Obama, Ice Storms, Puppy and Praise

Good Morning World!
As I write, we are in the midst of a major ice storm. It is the heaviest such storm since my family moved here in 2001. We are getting at least an inch of ice and I have to tell you that the new puppy in our house is not excited about heading out into the weather. House training has been a challenge already, but I guess this is a day to throw your hands into the air and say "oh well." She's going to do what she is going to do under these circumstances. We are blessed to have her and even more so to have a home to keep us out of the elements.

President Obama has been in office for a week now and there is a lot of excitement about him and his talk of change. While I cannot say the same for my friends on the left, I proudly accept this man as my president. It is my sincere hope that Americans in general will view him as such and enthusiastically work toward the improvement of our nation. For eight years, it was as if President Bush was considered a pretender to the throne. One might think that he failed to do one positive thing. Few on the left were capable of swallowing their partisanship and vitriol to admit to ANY successes during his presidency. I find it laughable that President Carter, whose presidency was marred with economic misteps and foreign policy failures was suddenly viewed as some sort of guru from whom Bush was somehow supposed to draw invaluable advice to save the nation from "malaise," foreign adventurism, and the evil lord Cheney. Wasn't it exciting when Ronald Reagan arrived on the scene to promise change? Americans soundly rejected Carter in favor of a brighter future with a new commander at the helm.

Of course the crown prince of Hope, Arkansas could do no wrong outside of his personal life. Partisanship was alive and well during President Clinton's presidency. This time it was the Republicans who could not stomach accepting the good policies of the rival party's leader. In many ways, Clinton's eight years in office were marred by continual efforts of the right to undermine the executive branch's actions, whether they had merit or not. There were, of course, mistakes. Some were major. But these could be blamed in part on the impeachment efforts in Congress. "What if" history will ask what preventative measures might have been achieved had the president been able to work with some degree of bipartisan support.

This entry is not meant to suggest that all should be butterflies and rainbows in Washington, but there does need to be a move toward thoughtful cooperation on behalf of the citizens of the United States for whom the denizens of Washington claim to represent. Was the Bush administration haughty, hasty, and single-minded in its pursuit of the president's goals? Perhaps one could say that. But did the Republicans reap what they sowed in the Clinton years? Was the eight year assault on his character payback for the attacks upon Clinton? There would seem to be at least stong suggestions to the affirmative. Have the issues that have plagued the Bush presidency been soley of his doing? Fair-minded observers would recognize the good with the bad. History rarely makes its judgment for several decades. Enough time has passed to make educated judgments about Carter and Reagan. The truth is that insufficient facts have been uncovered or declassified to evaluate either Clinton or Bush.

So now the 44th POTUS is in office. He will without a doubt make decisions that anger the Republicans, and even some in his own party. But isn't it time to consider President Obama the leader of all of us. We can use our constitutional rights to support or oppose him on policies. But institutionalized rejection of our leader because of his party affiliation will continue to carve a divide in this land. Could civil unrest be an outcome of continued ultra-partisanship? This writer believes that to be a realistic possibility. Thomas Jefferson once remarked that sectionalism in early 19th century America would eventually lead to dire consequences. While the nation is not currently geographically divded per se, it is ideologically split. Political partisanship is not without precedent in our history, but few are the times when the stakes of national survival are so clearly in jeopardy from beyond our borders.

I wish to close this posting with praise to the Lord for bringing Harper Stamps into this world. It is always heart-wrenching to know of a couple that desires so strongly for a child only to have those hopes dashed time and again. So it is with great joy that I raise up this child's name as a gift from God to parents who continued to believe and have faith that all things are possible through Jesus. God bless the Stamps and their beautiful daughter. Although her entry into the world was not without difficulty for mother and child, one cannot question the enduring faith of Kelly and Scott Stamps and the legions of those in the blogosphere who fervently prayed for this child's survival. Glory to God in the Highest!

David