Advent Hopes for a New Presidency

Teddy Roosevelt called the Presidency a “bully pulpit.” His cousin Franklin described the office as “preeminently a place of moral leadership.” John Kennedy said the President “is the person who sets the sights” of the nation. Each description reflects a long-held national consensus that the Presidency exemplifies America’s dreams, hopes and aspirations as a nation.

Thus the beginning of a new Presidency, like the Advent season of December and the New Year that follows, is a time of hope and expectation that America’s course will change for the better, our prospects will improve, and our promise will be renewed.

Though it was rancorous at times, the national conversation that accompanies every Presidential election ended on several high notes.

Every citizen should take heart from the record voter turnout. That so many young people and minorities voted gives us hope for the vitality of our democracy. Such high participation in the electoral process can only benefit the common good.

Another positive sign is that both President-elect Obama and Senator McCain in their final speeches expressed their willingness to work with each other for the good of the country. In his concession speech, Sen. McCain told his supporters, “These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face…. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences….”

For his part, President-elect Obama praised Sen. McCain for having “endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they’ve achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.”

The fact that the leaders of our two major parties can model such conciliation should inspire the rest of us to do the same.

But accepting an outcome is one thing. Successful transitions occur when people work together. Both the President-elect and Sen. McCain campaigned on a theme of cooperation and openness to working with the party “across the aisle.” Both seemed to rediscover the truth that citizens and politicians in other parties have good ideas that can make for good policies. So we should hope that our new President -- and all others elected to public office – will truly collaborate.
We can also take heart that President Obama’s victory speech affirmed that our nation’s influence flows not from our power or our wealth, but from the high purpose of our ideals. We can hope that these ideals will always be the true compass for his programs. We can also hope that one such ideal is the sanctity of all human life.

As he “sets the sights” for our federal government and our national agenda, we can hope that President Obama will display the same focused energy as candidate Obama in facing up to the pressing problems of our country. Indeed, in his victory speech, the President-elect called for “a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.”

Of course, service does not have to mean working for a government agency. Service can and should include a genuine partnership of public and private sectors – a partnership in which the whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts. Citizens called to such service can do much to protect the life and dignity of all human beings, secure peace, mend our economy, and secure the right to faith, family, food, shelter, education, employment, housing, and healthcare for all Americans.

We should find hope in the next administration’s willingness to seek out discussion on issues. President-elect Obama acknowledged that he, like all of us, does not have all the answers. We hope that all our leaders will go forward with a willingness to study each issue and truly embrace change when necessary. We hope our leaders will admit their mistakes and be willing to depart from proposals that fail to advance human life and dignity and the common good and never fail to embrace those that do.

Finally, there is reason to hope not only for our new President, but also for us. We can hope that, in electing our first African-American President, we wrote a new chapter in race relations. It has been over 40 years since another President, Lyndon Johnson, affirmed that it was up to all Americans to overcome the legacy of racism and bigotry that has been a shameful addition to our national story.

We Americans have yet to finish that journey toward a color-blind society. But there is every reason to believe Senator Obama’s elevation to our highest office means we have taken a big step on that journey.

And that is perhaps the most compelling reason to be hopeful about our nation’s future as we contemplate our Advent journey in 2008.

By John Huebscher
Executive Director, Wisconsin Catholic Conference