I am a team player. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and He is where my primary loyalties lie...but country comes right after faith and family on the totem pole of life. I want the very best for America, regardless of who is in the White House. I do not believe that America is now, or ever has been, supernaturally-favored over any other nation on Earth. The Bible is very clear that God's "most favored nation" pin is on Israel's lapel. I firmly believe that God's sovereign plan for our nation is still firmly intact, and that for some reason beyond my understanding, God wants Barack Obama running this country for the next 4-8 years.
Ok, pleasantries out of the way. I'm going to set aside my political preferences for just a bit and offer a hearty congratulations to the entire Obama campaign. As a member of the 18-34 demographic and one who appreciates a good marketing ad...I am truly impressed at the job Obama did on winning over the American people.
He utilized every conceivable avenue to get his name out there and stir up support for his campaign. Never before has the internet and technological fronts been anywhere near properly utilized in a presidential campaign. Obama has forever raised the bar on what is expected to win a presidential election.
A thirty minute long ad on 3 major networks the night of a World Series game? brilliant.
An application available on the iPhone whose sole purpose is propaganda and publicity? brilliant.
Finally awaking the untapped voting monster that is the 20-something crowd? brilliant.
Creating such a fervor among young people that their support is almost cult-like? brilliant.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
McCain's deck was a few cards short from the beginning. He didn't have full support of the evangelical right from the beginning. He never sufficiently distanced himself from George W. Bush to be able to call anything he wanted to do "change." If I had a penny for every time I saw that clip of him saying "I voted with the President more than 90% of the time. Much more than many of my fellow Republicans did." I could probably buy a Happy Meal.
As much as I like Sarah Palin as a person, there is a 0% chance I would trust her decision-making as President of the United States of America. She is a great governor, no doubt. She is a pretty face and a fairly intelligent debater...but that is about it. McCain's choosing her was the beginning of the end. It was a gutsy and dangerous move that backfired badly.
I have extreme reservations about Barack Obama's motives and intentions. I do not trust that man. That being said, I have to admit that he did a nearly flawless job of running a campaign for the presidency. He performed wonderfully on camera. He said the right things at the right times to the right people. He was trendy without being cliche. He was classy without coming across as pious. He is an extraordinary orator and I have confidence that he will do a good job of regaining our good reputation on the world stage.
Do I respect Barack Obama? Yes. He has come from the humblest of beginnings and had walked a rocky path to get to where he is now. He has made very powerful friends and convinced a strong majority of almost 300 million Americans to elect him as their leader. While I strongly oppose most of his beliefs and policies...he will be the President of the USA. As 3rd-generation Armed Services brat and a future member of the United States Air Force, I am honor-bound to respect the office of Commander-in-Chief.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, it is my responsibility to represent Him well to this world. It is my goal to act how He would act and respond how He would respond. In the last few weeks, I have failed miserably at both of those goals. I have done the very thing I've accused the masses of: Letting my emotions get the best of me. I have strained friendships and caused people to lose respect for me on account of my overly strong stand on political matters. I don't believe that if Jesus were walking America today, he would care at all about politics. A good friend quoted me a verse which rung in my ears, "rend to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's", speaking on Jesus' politicality (if that's a word.)
Having said that, since this is the venue where most of my opinions have been displayed, this is also the venue where I feel it is appropriate to offer an unconditional apology for the way in which I expressed them.
Please note that I am not apologizing for having opinions or feeling the need to express them...merely in how I went about doing that. I was wrong and I lost sight of my purpose. I was more concerned with being right and winning an argument (with people who will never admit to ever losing any argument) than I was about representing Christ well.
Done.
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President-Elect Obama, I offer my congratulations. I sincerely hope that you are able to fulfill your campaigning promises and that through your leadership America will return to its prior greatness. I hope that God himself would thwart the plans of the people that are undoubtedly already plotting how they are going to kill you. I will praying for you as often as your name comes to mind for as long as you are in office. May God bless your presidency and may God bless America. May America in turn bless God with her actions and attitudes.
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