President Elect Obama's Honeymoon in a Hurricane
A commentary by Howard Davis
United Church of God elder, Portland, Oregon
President-elect Barack Obama and his supporters are ecstatic. His
millions of campaign signs have promised "Change is Coming!" But
in our fast paced world of inevitable challenges that honeymoon
mood—the affection a new president receives from the public
in the afterglow of victory—could quickly disappear in 2009.
The storm clouds of economic distress and offshore conflicts that
most Americans love to hate have gathered considerable momentum
during Mr. Obama's two year campaign for the White House.
Now he must do more than talk, he must deal with them.
America's Economic Challenge
Like
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 75 years ago in the depth of the Great
Depression, Mr. Obama will start his administration in a national
financial crisis.
In the early stages of the Great Depression, unemployment
surged to 25% of the workforce, with 13 million people out of work.
Industrial production fell by nearly 45% between 1929 and 1932.
New home construction dropped by 80% between 1929 and 1932. Also
from 1929 to 1932 about 5000 banks went out of business.
The probability
of another prolonged economic downslide is significant if not high. We
have already gone through the first stage. As Executive Editor of
U.S. News and World Report Mortimer
Zuckerman wrote in its October 20,
2008 issue: "Everyone is haunted by the fear that our financial
crisis might unwind into something like the Great Depression. The
world of finance is undergoing a 100-year storm, inflicting the
worst destruction of wealth in our history."
Worse than
in the initial stages of the Great Depression, Americans in the
last year and a half have seen about $20 trillion dollars—about
a third—of their net worth wiped out though stock and other
financial asset losses in retirement portfolios along with a crash
in the values in their homes.
Housing construction is 70%
below the levels of two years ago and consumer spending is declining,
while the unemployment rate of 6% threatens to skyrocket even amidst
the government bailouts of one sector after another of the economy.
America's Wars
In his two year quest
for the White House Mr. Obama constantly spoke of America's
wars in the Middle East as failures. Even after the U.S. military "surge
strategy" stabilized Iraq's
civil war of Shiites against Sunnis, he has proclaimed the war in
Iraq to be a policy failure of the United States.
Now
his assessment will become the official position of his administration,
with potentially huge consequences to American policy in that region
and throughout the world. Furthermore, Mr. Obama sees the War in
Afghanistan as failing. He has vowed to "get Osama bin Laden" with
military incursions into Pakistan if necessary.
What will Mr. Obama
do as he begins dismantling the foreign policy of his predecessor?
What will be the effect to U.S. standing in the world? He will be
facing a long list of choices, each having dramatic consequences
in the whole world.
America's Spiritual Challenge
Mr.
Obama proclaimed in his victory speech that the United States is
the beacon of hope for the world and its people. His implication
is that the United States is more than a mere political entity.
To those who know and understand the Bible, America became this
beacon Mr. Obama talks about because its very existence is the fulfillment
of ancient biblical promises. God promised the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prominence among the nations. In these
countries the laws of God can generally be freely practiced. The
Bible has made a profound contribution to America's laws,
customs and freedom of religion.
God has indeed given America its
opportunity to be a beacon of
the truth that He preserved for mankind in the Bible. It has been
the place where, in large measure, all people could freely practice
those godly principles.
Mr. Obama's greatest challenge will
lie in rightly understanding the spiritual priorities God has for
giving United States the abundance of blessings it has received.
It is for us to pray for Mr. Obama—as
the apostle Paul admonished Timothy the evangelist: "Therefore
I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who
are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and reverence" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
  For a clear
explanation of the unique role America has had in the world and
why it is in danger of losing its preeminence as a "beacon
of hope" among all nations, request, download or read online
our free, informative booklets: The
United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and You
Can Understand Bible Prophecy.
Related Resources
Beyond
Today Web TV: What Will the Next President Face?
As the President navigates in a turbulent world he will need to heed the warnings
from God's Word if he is to succeed.
What Will the Next President Face?
In the days of biblical Israel, advisers counseled the king on how
to lead the nation based on the Word of God. Samuel guided Saul.
Nathan counseled David. Isaiah revealed God's will to Hezekiah.
These men of God represented the word of God to the king. What might
a servant of God say today if he entered the Oval Office with an
analysis of the world and America for the president?
From World News & Prophecy:
What
Will the Next President Face? - Part 1
What
Will the Next President Face? - Part 2
What
Will the Next President Face? - Part 3 |
