Abandoned by his base and set adrift, the President trudges forward. He is weary, beleaguered, and beset with problems of the ages that span the Holy Land to the Cold War of Russia on to Iraq and back again to this country. Race relations may have cracked open with the events that transpired this last week in Ferguson, Missouri. Shouldn't it have been Selma, Birmingham, Watts or even Senator Cory Booker's beloved Newark, New Jersey? Who would have thought that the inner city area surrounding St. Louis would ignite this powder keg? The things that this dear man, our President, tried to knit together are ripping apart with the killing of yet another young, unarmed, African American male--Michael Brown.
Grief and determination were etched on the face of this country's first African American President, Barack Hussein Obama, as he spoke from the Martha's Vineyard. Beaten up, gaunt and rapidly graying -he addressed the country on the shooting and the aftermath of violence in the streets -- with the face of determination. Now we've all seen that look before. Remember after the shootings in Newton, Connecticut in December 2012. Well this time was going to be different - change would come albeit calmly with a steady hand. This was not the country that he wanted his daughters to grow up in. This was not the way things were supposed to be; particularly not after all of his hard work to get elected and stay in office. America deserved better than white police officers shooting unarmed young black men and riots.
Frankly, few other Presidents have faced so many simultaneous crises as this man -- with criticism coming from all fronts. Yet he stands tall and is a good, decent and intelligent man trying to make his way and do good -- while besieged by chaos in his own US Congress. Certainly, the realities of the Great Recession have not been magically washed away, but unemployment is receding. Yes, people are still out of work, many homes have been lost forever, and extreme climate abnormalities have added another layer of complexity. Still it is truly possible -- if he is allowed and not hindered by the Liberals of his own political party or those Republicans -- that this country can emerge stronger with a new road map for race relations, immigration, climate change, health care, and even prosperity.