Obama's Approval

Dear Victorious,

The news media seem to be taking swipes at President Obama already. They talk about how he is going back on his campaign promises, etc. I even heard one talk show host speak about him as the "death president" because of his latest action on stem cell research and abortion. On the other hand, his approval ratings are high. So doesn't that prove that most Americans are happy with him?

Renee C. - Florida

Dear Renee,

I don't think the news media are taking any more swipes at Obama than they ever did. Perhaps you didn't find them so painful before because he wasn't your president at the time. I think there is some evidence to support the fact that Obama has failed to live up to some of his campaign promises. The most clear example of that has been his reluctance to fight Congress on earmarks (or "pork") in the bills that need to be passed right now. The latest one had more than 8,000 earmarks for the pet projects of the people who were voting on the bill. Obama promised us he would fight that - and he's not - at least not yet.

I've also heard him referred to as the "death president," because of some of his actions. Ironically, this is where he is keeping his campaign promises. We knew that Obama approved of abortion and stem cell research before we elected him. He told us he'd clear the way for even forced abortions in foreign countries with U.S. money, and he told us he would further stem cell research. He is doing both.

Of course Obama's approval ratings are high. It is early in his presidency. Most Americans are still hopeful that he'll succeed. (I am one of them!) But I'm not sure that means the most Americans agree with what he's doing. (I don't.) Remember that President Bush's ratings were high after the first three months of his first term too. I'll be more impressed if Obama still has high ratings at the end of his term. But even then, ratings don't make a good president.

Let's not worry about the noise the press makes. Instead, let us pray that God will lead our president along a divinely appointed path and use him to bless our nation. If you want to know what to think of him as our president, don't look at the ratings either. Instead look at whether our country is fundamentally better as a result of his leadership.