Letter to an Invisible President

The invisible coffins of our honored war dead arriving at Dover AFB. The Pentagon banned photographs like this one.

Monday 3 November 2008

Dear George:

in a few hours, Americans will begin voting for your successor as President of the United States.  Actually, early voters have banked millions of votes already.

You are remarkably absent from the campaign.  From invincible to invisible in four short years!  You should give lessons. Or maybe Dick Cheney should.

As a fellow sinner, however, I cannot gloat.  But I hope you’ll reflect on your experience, and maybe learn something from it, although in office you have shown a remarkable inability to learn from your mistakes.

The first observation I’d make is that you took office, almost with a halo, a literal anointing by some Christian leaders to your position.  Mr. President, that’s scary.

I profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  By that careful choice of words, I mean to strip away historical accretions which have encrusted faith.

Your election represented the peak of political power exercised by the religious right.  Much of the country has rejected that viewpoint, not because people are not Christian or do not respect those who are Christians, but because the religious right smells bad.

It stinks of pride, looking down on others not so blessed as itself. It seeks to rule without consent of the governed, except the inner circle of the chosen few.

My prayer is that the new President will realize he must win the support of the approximately 50% of voters who didn’t vote for him.  You never bothered to do that.  To you and to your party everybody else was invisible.

The second observation I’d make is that being invisible has lots of advantages. It gives you a chance to recognize that you aren’t the center of the universe.

And, it gives you privacy in which to repent of your sins.  If that sounds harsh, Mr. President, I don’t mean it to be.  I have to repent of my sins many times a day. 

Now that you’re invisible, you won’t have the White House press corps dogging your every step.  So, if you have to backtrack, it’s no big deal.

When you’re invisible, you can actually be righteous, rather than simply appearing righteous all the time.   

My third observation is the last.  (Being a preacher, I’m used to three points and a poem.)

It’s hard not to blame you for the incredible mess we’re in:

• The war in Iraq: you lied to get us in it (I’m not sure if that was on purpose or in ignorance);
• you snubbed the other nations of the world with arrogance America will be paying for for a long time;
• you abused the loyalty of our troops and have worn our military to sub-operational levels; the steady stream of coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base is invisible, but the anguish  grieving hearts glares like a nuclear conflagration;
• the US economy and world economies are in meltdown.

At least you got your vacations in every August.

It’s not all your fault, of course.  But some of it is.  Your job as President was to make things better for ordinary people and for the world. 

Mr. President, how do you think you did?

Sincerely,

John