In times of great American peril, great leaders have always emerged

[Cyrano]

At the birth of our nation, great people such as Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and a brilliant general named George Washington, put their very lives on the line to bring our country into being.

The Civil War brought forth the magnificence of Abraham Lincoln.

The Depression and WWII demonstrated the immense greatness of Franklin Roosevelt.

The Cuban Missile Crisis put us on the edge of a nuclear holocaust and revealed John F. Kennedy's intelligence, grace under pressure and pure grit.

Since 1981, Reagan and the Republicans have been pushing America toward a steep cliff. And Bush/Cheney finally pushed us off the edge.

America is now in free fall and our president is Barack Obama. I personally believe he has what it takes to lead us out of the peril we are now in. The Republicans are doing everything they can to obstruct him and there's a word for people like them: Traitors.

It remains to be seen if we can survive our current peril. But make no mistake about it. The current situation is as big a threat to America as we know it, as those of the past.

So let's all hope that Obama has the same greatness (and good fortune) as those whom we look back on in history and admire so very much.

[yellowdogintexas]

1. I have been mulling this same thought around for quite a while now.

consider that even the worst of all our potential nominees was better than anything the R's had to offer.

They all seek it for different reasons, but I think every one of them felt the need to get in there and stop the madness.


wondering if the crisis makes the man, or if we get the leader we need when the chips are really down.

[Cyrano]

2. It's probably a bit of both

However, would anyone have wanted George W. as president during WWII, or the Cuban missile crisis? Had he been in charge during either of those eras, we'd probably all be speaking German now, or we'd have been vaporized.

Nonetheless, there doesn't seem to be a Washington, Lincoln, FDR, or John Kennedy around every corner. Perhaps we've merely been tremendously fortunate.

Before our "great men" became "great men," no one could have really predicted how they would perform under extraordinary circumstances.

But there's something different about Obama. There's no doubting his intelligence, but there is far more there. There seems to be an inner peace, and a self-assurance in this man which makes it seem that nothing can throw him off stride. His opponents underestimated him during the primaries, just as the Republicans are underestimating him today.

None of us can possibly predict how our current crisis will turn out. But given my "druthers," I'd rather have Obama in the White House right now over anyone else I can think of. IMO, there is greatness in this man. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.