Let us pray for our President
Let us pray for President Bush
The President needs our prayers, more dearly, I suspect, than most of us imagine. White House Aids say the situation is not good. I have never viewed Mr. Bush’s personality balance as healthy. I have expected when his public persona collapsed, he would face a severe sense of loss, anxiety and possibly depression. There are signs that this has begun.
There are many issues facing our nation that need leadership from the White House: alternate energy, immigration, trade, the war, the budget imbalance, social security reform, on and on. Bush could turn his administration around as did Reagan following the Iran-Contra scandals in his second term. “Every American has a stake in hoping he can surprise us.’ (See editorial below)
Even when we have reason to have bad feelings toward another, we are summoned to love them. Which means at least not to wish them harm but good. Let us pray for our President. He needs it now more than ever.
Both faith and prayer are known and measured health factors. Prayer may not change God’s will, but it can change us, and though us, others. The greatest force in the universe is simply Love.
Noblesse oblge. “Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can we keep from singing? (Hymn)
Paschal Baute
Editorial, NY Times, President Bush's Walkabout, Nov 8, 2005
“After President Bush's disastrous visit to Latin America, it's unnerving to realize that his presidency still has more than three years to run. An administration with no agenda and no competence would be hard enough to live with on the domestic front. But the rest of the world simply can't afford an American government this bad for that long.
“In Argentina, Mr. Bush, who prides himself on his ability to relate to world leaders face to face, could barely summon the energy to chat with the 33 other leaders there, almost all of whom would be considered friendly to the United States under normal circumstances. He and his delegation failed to get even a minimally face-saving outcome at the collapsed trade talks and allowed a loudmouthed opportunist like the president of Venezuela to steal the show.
“It's amazing to remember that when Mr. Bush first ran for president, he bragged about his understanding of Latin America, his ability to speak Spanish and his friendship with Mexico. But he also made fun of Al Gore for believing that nation-building was a job for the United States military.
“The White House is in an uproar over the future of Karl Rove, the president's political adviser, and spinning off rumors that some top cabinet members may be asked to walk the plank. Mr. Bush could certainly afford to replace some of his top advisers. But the central problem is not Karl Rove or Treasury Secretary John Snow or even Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary. It is President Bush himself.
“Second terms may be difficult, but the chief executive still has the power to shape what happens. Ronald Reagan managed to turn his messy second term around and deliver - in great part through his own powers of leadership - a historic series of agreements with Mikhail Gorbachev that led to the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet empire. Mr. Bush has never demonstrated the capacity for such a comeback. Nevertheless, every American has a stake in hoping that he can surprise us.
“The place to begin is with Dick Cheney, the dark force behind many of the administration's most disastrous policies, like the Iraq invasion and the stubborn resistance to energy conservation. Right now, the vice president is devoting himself to beating back Congressional legislation that would prohibit the torture of prisoners. This is truly a remarkable set of priorities: his former chief aide was indicted, Mr. Cheney's back is against the wall, and he's declared war on the Geneva Conventions.
“Mr. Bush cannot fire Mr. Cheney, but he could do what other presidents have done to vice presidents: keep him too busy attending funerals and acting as the chairman of studies to do more harm. Mr. Bush would still have to turn his administration around, but it would at least send a signal to the nation and the world that he was in charge, and the next three years might not be as dreadful as they threaten to be right now.” End/
.
The President needs our prayers, more dearly, I suspect, than most of us imagine. White House Aids say the situation is not good. I have never viewed Mr. Bush’s personality balance as healthy. I have expected when his public persona collapsed, he would face a severe sense of loss, anxiety and possibly depression. There are signs that this has begun.
There are many issues facing our nation that need leadership from the White House: alternate energy, immigration, trade, the war, the budget imbalance, social security reform, on and on. Bush could turn his administration around as did Reagan following the Iran-Contra scandals in his second term. “Every American has a stake in hoping he can surprise us.’ (See editorial below)
Even when we have reason to have bad feelings toward another, we are summoned to love them. Which means at least not to wish them harm but good. Let us pray for our President. He needs it now more than ever.
Both faith and prayer are known and measured health factors. Prayer may not change God’s will, but it can change us, and though us, others. The greatest force in the universe is simply Love.
Noblesse oblge. “Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can we keep from singing? (Hymn)
Paschal Baute
Editorial, NY Times, President Bush's Walkabout, Nov 8, 2005
“After President Bush's disastrous visit to Latin America, it's unnerving to realize that his presidency still has more than three years to run. An administration with no agenda and no competence would be hard enough to live with on the domestic front. But the rest of the world simply can't afford an American government this bad for that long.
“In Argentina, Mr. Bush, who prides himself on his ability to relate to world leaders face to face, could barely summon the energy to chat with the 33 other leaders there, almost all of whom would be considered friendly to the United States under normal circumstances. He and his delegation failed to get even a minimally face-saving outcome at the collapsed trade talks and allowed a loudmouthed opportunist like the president of Venezuela to steal the show.
“It's amazing to remember that when Mr. Bush first ran for president, he bragged about his understanding of Latin America, his ability to speak Spanish and his friendship with Mexico. But he also made fun of Al Gore for believing that nation-building was a job for the United States military.
“The White House is in an uproar over the future of Karl Rove, the president's political adviser, and spinning off rumors that some top cabinet members may be asked to walk the plank. Mr. Bush could certainly afford to replace some of his top advisers. But the central problem is not Karl Rove or Treasury Secretary John Snow or even Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary. It is President Bush himself.
“Second terms may be difficult, but the chief executive still has the power to shape what happens. Ronald Reagan managed to turn his messy second term around and deliver - in great part through his own powers of leadership - a historic series of agreements with Mikhail Gorbachev that led to the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet empire. Mr. Bush has never demonstrated the capacity for such a comeback. Nevertheless, every American has a stake in hoping that he can surprise us.
“The place to begin is with Dick Cheney, the dark force behind many of the administration's most disastrous policies, like the Iraq invasion and the stubborn resistance to energy conservation. Right now, the vice president is devoting himself to beating back Congressional legislation that would prohibit the torture of prisoners. This is truly a remarkable set of priorities: his former chief aide was indicted, Mr. Cheney's back is against the wall, and he's declared war on the Geneva Conventions.
“Mr. Bush cannot fire Mr. Cheney, but he could do what other presidents have done to vice presidents: keep him too busy attending funerals and acting as the chairman of studies to do more harm. Mr. Bush would still have to turn his administration around, but it would at least send a signal to the nation and the world that he was in charge, and the next three years might not be as dreadful as they threaten to be right now.” End/
.
posted by Paschal Baute at 1:14 PM
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