In Wake of USA Today Poll, Obama Administration Would Do Well to Keep an Eye on History

It was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who officially created the Thanksgiving Day holiday in 1936. During a time when the country—indeed the world—was still grappling with the vestiges of what would come to be known as The Great Depression, Thanksgiving created a time of respite and reconnection to family and friends.

To say nothing of the enormous stimulation to the economy.

So, Thanksgiving, in many respects this year, rivals in significance to that time period when it was first created. Now, as then, there is economic and political turmoil everywhere. And now as then also, a charismatic leader is at the helm of the U.S. and domestic problems and international ones constantly compete for center stage attention.

This has been brought even more immediately to the fore today in the wake of the USA Today poll that reports Americans are losing patience with President Barak Obama’s management of the war in Afghanistan, and with the health care plan that is still moving through Congress. Certainly the president himself is nearing an epoch in his leadership dossier; being able to somehow placate the skeptics about his health care plan while also prosecuting a war that increasingly seems to be one the country cannot afford to walk away from.

I like to think that President Obama, like many of his predecessors, is a student of history and recognizes that what he faces has been faced by others in the Oval Office. And that his response needs to be—as with the others—a measured one that will guide the country safely through these turbulent times. This may mean that, despite the detractors about the war, a troop surge may be the expedient thing to do in Afghanistan. Likewise, his health care bill will likely need to be further revised so that the majority of Americans (many of whom already have health care) do not feel they are being excessively taxed. Obviously this will require some modifying on positions he has taken. But the history of leadership is filled with individuals who went on to be icons because they understood the importance of addressing all the nuanced areas concisely in a time of crisis.

So, on this Thanksgiving holiday I offer particularly focused prayers of encouragement and wisdom in the direction of the president and his administration. They need it—we all need it—now more than ever.