A Soul

Like him or loth him, agree or disagree, compliment or complain, one thing even the harshest critic must admit is that this president appears to have a soul. Never in modern times have we had a president that will open himself up to interspection and reflection in the eyes of the American public. It has been a very long time since a President urged us to pay attention and listen to the words of a critique, a heckler and someone that would appear to be a foe. Yet, he has done that on more than one occasion.

There will be many voices and opinions on tonight’s one hour delivery by the president and not a lot of agreement but one thing appears certain to me. This leader has a soul. He isn’t afraid to ponder how history will treat him, yet he doesn’t seem to let it affect his judgment. In the eyes of the businessman he is a villain and in the eyes of the poor and needy, he is the savior many have been waiting for. Many want to believe in him, but his missteps can often make it difficult.

One thing is for certain. Be he right or wrong, he certainly is his own man and sticks to his guns no matter how unpopular, and dosen’t make excuses for his opinions, no matter how radical they might appear to be. We often refer to 2nd term presidents as lame ducks, but the flip side to that is that they are free to press the point and fight for what they believe in. After all, with no 3rd term as a possibility, what do they have to lose? His willingness to try to offer an olive branch to Muslims impressed me; not because it was for Muslims but because it was to a perceived enemy and that he was not willing to follow the lead of past presidents and send large groups of innocent people to internment camps just to easy public fears.

My own opinion of the man has diminished from the first time he was elected. In the beginning I was impressed by his willingness to take on the system, make tough decisions, even to admit it when he blew it. Since that time he has been forced to bow to different requirements, but what President hasn’t or doesn’t? Unfortunately, history will remember him as the man that just never could be an effective politician and pull both sides together as Ronald Regan famously did time after time.

A president must represent the people … all of them, not just one or two special classes. This president has tried but has also been quite stubborn at times to the point of losing the support of his own party simply because he let his feelings get in the way of good political judgment. I used to think he would figure it out but have since realized that he’s just being the man that he is and in a different time and place he could easily be painted as a hero.

History will judge him and determine just how good he was, but one thing is for sure; history will note that for better or worse, he certainly did things the way he wanted to, and in some circles that is highly admired. Part of me wonders if, in his later years, he will take on more of a Jimmy Carter kind of motif where we will see a far better elder statesman, or will he slip into isolation like Richard Nixon and limit his public exposure.

His greatest legacy may only be that he opened the door of the presidency anyone, regardless of their color, creed, or national origin. That would be a bit of a shame, but then again, old “42” did the same thing and folks, that remains even today as a pretty significant piece of history. I don’t like you Mr. President, but I do respect you and what you have tried to achieve. For now I’m ready for your replacement, but as time goes on, perhaps I’ll grow a bit wiser and see the wisdom of some of your decisions. One thing is for sure, you have a number of qualities I would like to see in all our future presidents, but then again, so has each before you; so we’ll leave it up to those Historians.