Given the reality that all humans are inherently broken and possess a disease called sin, it struck me as remarkable this election season for any Christian to be enthusiastic about any candidate for public office. But so it was.
And now that President-elect Obama will take the highest office, it strikes me again as weird that anyone would automatically ridicule Obama's first 100 days (see Rush Limbaugh). Or the opposite: that people already believe he will do everything he promised (see most Americans).
It seems to me that a critical yet hopeful approach would simply be to wait and see what happens. We're getting hints about how Obama will govern, and the kind of executive orders he would pass right away (from AP):
President-elect Barack Obama plans to use his executive powers to make an immediate impact when he takes office, perhaps reversing Bush administration policies on stem-cell research and domestic drilling for oil and natural gas.
I'm waiting for now. As a moderate conservative, I find it hopeful that Obama had conservative-leaning advisors in foreign policy and economics. On the other hand, Obama might really govern from the far-left. Although he says he will hire high-profile Republicans and Independents to high-profile cabinet positions, I'm going to wait and see. Maybe he really will bring a different kind of politics, but I'm also still skeptical. All humans are sinful, and I shouldn't expect Barack Obama to be perfect. Even the most godly of Kings in the Hebrew Testament stumbled occasionally along their way.
On a different note, I've always followed national politics closely but have always been unsure on what exactly constitutes an executive order and why those particular orders do not need to be passed by Congress. Does anyone know?
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About executive orders, this is how they work (I think, it has been a while since I actually looked at it). In essence, they are a directive from the president's office that help clarify a law that is already in existence or help enforce the law (since one of the jobs of the president is to uphold the law). They cannot (at least in theory) make law through executive orders. Some more famous or infamous executive orders were the interment of the Japanese during WW2 and the desegregation of the military. All executive orders are released to the public except when national security is at stake.
Congress and the Supreme Court have checks on the president’s authority to utilize executive orders. The Supreme Court can say an executive order is unconstitutional because the order makes law instead of enforcing law or directing law. Congress can pass new laws that contradict an executive order (i.e. President George W. rescinded an executive order on new drilling for oil on the oceans but the congress still had to rescind its ban on new drilling). Congress can also choose not to fund executive orders. However, the president rarely is checked in these manners. Partially because the president does not want to overstep his bounds (because being checked like that is embarrassing) and because Congress has no problem letting the president take the blame if an order goes bad or Congress is unwilling to fight the president on those orders. I hope this helps and I hope this is accurate.
I also agree with what you are saying, no one can really know anything about how Obama will govern. Being a senator is different then being the president, so it is quite possible he will not govern the same. I hope and pray he is a good president, especially as a minority and white person, he has the potential to bring a lot of understanding and healing to the issue of race in America.
I like the "wait and see" approach. It's not overly optimistic but not overly pessimistic either. It really is "realistic". I'm hopeful he will do good for the country, but I'm also not betting the farm!
Thanks Neph,
That clarifies a lot for me. Although, given the reference of the article, I have no idea how Presidents would be able to overturn drilling and stem-cell stuff so flippantly, given current laws.
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