Mohler on Obama's School Speech

Al Mohler has some balanced comments about the school speech that Obama will give tomorrow. His conclusion:

The politics of celebrity is a dangerous business. President Obama is a cult figure and a pop icon. That cuts both ways. The Obama campaign capitalized on it, and the Obama Administration attempts to do the same. But the President's constitutional role is that of the nation's Chief Executive, not its icon. This is not the Soviet Union or North Korea. We do not need a cult of personality around this White House, and the President is ill-served by those who would present him as a pop icon. The President should call all citizens to serve the nation -- not to serve him and help him meet his goals.

It was inevitable that the nation's first African-American President would face such challenges. Given the force of his personality, President Obama's greatest strengths can easily become his besetting weaknesses. And yet, this entire nation should hope and pray that more Americans would follow this president's example of family dedication, commitment to marriage, and love for his children.

The nation -- and the Obama Administration -- should learn from this controversy and be determined not to repeat this fracas. The White House should shut down the cult of personality, and the nation's conservatives should discipline themselves to discern the real issues from the conspiracy myths. There is plenty to deal with on the plane of reality.

Barack Obama is President of the United States. Christians must be the first to pray for this president and to model respect for the presidency, even when we must disagree with the President's policies and proposals. Given what this president intends to say tomorrow to America's students, count me as one who hopes many are listening. If even a few young hearts are encouraged, those moments will be worth all the controversy.

If my 1st grader was going to be exposed to this speech I would personally not be opposed to it. He would listen, I would listen, and then we would talk about it. All the hype is just that...hype. My son knows that Obama's policies on abortion are completely morally bankrupt, but he also knows that we are called to pray for him as our leader. We would listen and seek to be discerning.