Primaries and caucuses are events that are happening almost every week now. This has been the case for many months. Barbershops, malls, hair salons and places of worship all have people in them asking the question, “What do you think about this year’s election?” The responses will vary, but you will always get an answer.
Some pundits who follow these matters say this year’s election is like no other. Well, probably the same can be said for the election held eight years ago. Barack Obama, a candidate with limited political experience, burst onto the scene to win the presidency of the United States of America.
Barack Obama’s spirit and his belief in the American people captured our hearts and minds. I believe his campaign slogan “yes we can” is one of the best ever. It gave us a newfound hope in ourselves.
President Obama has made America more inclusive and welcoming than at any other time in our history. Yes we can bring your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Yes we can provide health care to all of America’s citizens and yes we can worship and pray together.
What has attracted the world to President Obama is his ability to be a bridge-builder and his understanding of what affects the least of us affects all of us. Even during his campaign for president, you didn’t hear mean-spirited attacks between him and his opponents. In fact, he made one of his opponents, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State. He could do that because they both engaged in a civil campaign.
Of course there have been critics of President Obama yet he has engaged them all with dignity and respect. Traps and snares have been laid out for him, but he has walked over and through them unscathed. To paraphrase a scripture, Psalm 105:15 says touch not my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.
Some people have been whining about President Obama for eight years, but I will guarantee you those same people who are whining now will be crying later when he leaves office. Many of us have learned that sometimes when you are in the middle of good you don’t realize it until you don’t have it anymore. Some didn’t have health care pre-Obama but now have it with President Obama. Some didn’t have a job pre-Obama but now have a job with President Obama. Lastly, some of us had children in wars in foreign countries pre-Obama and now they are out of harm’s way with President Obama.
