Barack Obama, Student In Chief, Will Inspire Thoughtfulness, Vitalization of Our Democracy

John McCain, with the help of Joe the Plumber, ridiculed Obama for wanting to be “Redistributor in Chief,”  and said that he, McCain, as president would be Commander in Chief.

Of course a president is in charge of the military, in charge of protecting the nation, but a president has even more vital roles he must perform.

After the election, I saw this headline, “Obama, must be ‘Educator in Chief,’” by Mitt Romney.  I like that thought.  Among the three choices — Redistributor, Commander, or Educator — Romney’s is best.  I agree, a president should be an educator, a teacher.

One thing seems certain.  If the children of today are to have any chance to get to old age like their grandparents, and to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous world, there is much, much work to be done.  Right now, our future doesn’t look too good.  This is surprising because, as a nation, we have great potential, great resources.  As a democratic society we should be able to insure a great future for all of our citizens.  But, we are failing to do so.

The turmoil in our finances,  our threatened economy, our war in Iraq, I believe, are symptoms of what might be called a Systems Failure.  The red lights are flashing:  Our democracy is in trouble.  Our democracy is not working as it should.  Our democracy is in trouble.

The key to getting America to work as it should, is getting our democracy to work as it should.    This will require making reforms in the system — like stopping gerrymandering — but it will require something much more difficult to achieve as well.  For our democracy to work, as a nation, we need to rise to new levels of understanding and thoughtfulness.   For our democracy to work, we need a citizenry that is better informed, more engaged, more thoughtful.

The leadership we need is one that models and inspires thoughtfulness.

To educate means to lead, to bring out — that which is best.  A president who sees himself as a student, sees himself as a teacher, an educator, will add immensely to a culture of thoughtfulness, will add much to the vitalization of our democracy.

Barack Obama, Student in Chief, I’m betting, and hoping, will be a very effective president, a very effective Educator in Chief.  As every good teacher does, I’m thinking that Obama will help bring out the best in us all.