Eric Henderson

On Tuesday night sometime between 8pm and midnight, the major news organizations will begin to call the most anticipated Presidential election in a generation for either Barack Obama or John McCain. We know this will happen, but what we don’t know, is what Wednesday morning will be like. 

I’m not talking about whether the world will instantly be a better place if Obama is elected, as many of his supporters seem to think, or if the world will be safe from liberals and their tendencies toward socialism if McCain is elected, as many of his supporters are hoping. I’m talking about where we go next, as a country, as a divided electorate, with whichever guy wins. 

Everybody seems to want a change. Democrats, many independents, and even a few “Obamacans” want an ideological change. Republicans, many other independents, and any “McCainocrats” that may be out there, want a new guy sitting in the Oval Office (preferably one with less baggage). We’re going to get change for sure. It may not be the change each of us wants, but politics always disappoints us, doesn’t it?

If Obama wins, he won’t be able to do everything he said he would. He won’t be as liberal in his governance as many of his supporters hoped he’d be and he might be more liberal than others anticipated. If McCain wins, his White House will be run as poorly as his campaign and he too will frustrate his base by looking more like the John McCain who met with John Kerry about being his running mate in 2004 than the John McCain who met with John Haggee about an endorsement in 2008. 

I believe the last eight years have been a disaster. I know I’ll lose some of you here, that’s fine, but President Bush blew it. With the exception of his funding of AIDS relief and debt forgiveness for many nations in Africa and southeast Asia, he has been a bull in a china shop. The only thing small about his administration has been his world-view. This election, like most elections, is ultimately a referendum on the guy leaving office. Bush’s approval rating is down to about 20% because that is how many people either don’t watch the news, only read the paper for the ads, or are unwilling to call a foul when they see one because the guy who committed it is on their team. We all want a change and on Wednesday morning that change will begin. Sure, President Bush has until January 20th to pack up his things and do the best he can to improve his legacy in the process, but on Wednesday morning, he’s done.

So whoever wins, they’ve got a tall order. Two wars, a dwindling economy, an outdated national infrastructure and an immediate need to address carbon emissions and energy independence. Not to mention a congress that hasn’t passed meaningful legislation in two years and an american people in need of better government but bitterly divided on how to achieve it. My hope is that whoever wins will wake up on Wednesday morning and seek to unite the country knowing full well that roughly half of us voted for the other guy. If there’s ever a time to reach across the aisle, it’s wednesday morning. 

If McCain wins, he can learn from the candidacy of Barack Obama that people want and need to be inspired, that they really are tired of divisive politics and want to end the wars as quickly and effectively as possible. He can learn that people are serious about universal healthcare (not socialized medicine) and that they don’t want bigger government, but smarter government. He can learn that American’s want our image to be restored in the world. We don’t want a president who apologizes for America, but one who’s governance makes us proud.

If Obama wins, he must remember that he is governing a center-right nation and that the ideas of Nancy Pelosi don’t fly with 65% of the country. He must also be careful not to let a democratic majority (if that happens) in the house and senate run wild and take Americans to a place they don’t want to go. He must continually reach out to the part of the country that is afraid of him and always remember that he was elected with a mandate to change the partisan politics in our nation. 

Right now it’s Saturday night but on Wednesday morning, we will have a new President-elect and a fresh start at addressing the issues we face. Whether you’re happy or sad, hopeful or scared or even indifferent on Wednesday morning, the next President is going to need you. 

Lastly, I am a Christian, and so my hope is ultimately in a different Wednesday morning. I believe in a King and a Kingdom. The Bible says that my citizenship is in Heaven and while I do eagerly await a Savior from there, it is my commission, on Wednesday morning and every morning,  to campaign for the Kingdom of God regardless of who wins the campaign for the Presidency of the United States.