At 12:05 p.m. today (EST) Barack Obama took the oath of office and officially became the 44th President of the United States. The Constitution, Article II, Section 1 states that before he enter on the execution of his office, the President shall take the following oath or affirmation:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Let us all join together in praying for our new President and giving thanks to God for yet another peaceful transfer of power for the United States of America.

Related posts:

• Good-bye Mr. President
• Congratulations Senator Barack Obama!

Here are the lyrics to a song Steven Curtis Chapman wrote for President Bush back in November. As we uphold our new President Barack Obama in prayer, let us also remember to give thanks for President George W. Bush and his service to our country these past eight years.

Good-bye Mr. President,
I guess the time has come for you to,
Pack up all your things and turn the page,
So I was thinking as you left,
I’d try to write a song to tell you,
What so many of us want to say.

For all those sleepless nights,
I am sure you must have had,
For all the prayers I’m sure you prayed,
For how you tried to lead us when the way was so unclear,
I am sure it wasn’t always evident,
But thank you Mr. President!

Good-bye Mr. President,
You will not be forgotten,
All the courage and the hope you helped us find,
I can’t imagine how it felt,
To stand where you were standing,
And to try to make the calls you thought were right.

So for those sleepless nights,
I am sure you must have had,
That put those lines around your eyes,
For how you carried the weight,
Even when the lights went out,
I am sure you’ll never know how much it meant,
I thank you Mr. President.

So for those days ahead,
When they write about the past,
And everybody has their say,
From all of us who know,
You gave us everything you could,
We hope you will remember this,
Thank you Mr. President!
Good-bye Mr. President.

- by Steven Curtis Chapman

Poor George Bush can’t seem to catch a break with the New York Times. The Times ran a positive article today on Barack Obama’s reading habits and decided to include a negative paragraph on George Bush for contrast. The problem is that Bush is a voracious reader who apparently reads more than Obama. So how do you turn this into a criticism of the President? Bush reads too much! He races through his books while Obama reads more thoughtfully.

Mr. Obama tends to take a magpie approach to reading — ruminating upon writers’ ideas and picking and choosing those that flesh out his vision of the world or open promising new avenues of inquiry. His predecessor, George W. Bush, in contrast, tended to race through books in competitions with Karl Rove (who recently boasted that he beat the president by reading 110 books to Mr. Bush’s 95 in 2006), or passionately embrace an author’s thesis as an idée fixe.

I am glad that George Bush and Barack Obama are both readers. I am sorry the Times chose to criticize Bush for his reading, especially on this his last day of office. Why not lift them both up as great examples for continued learning through reading?

“Illinois – Where Our Governors Make Our License Plates”

I know, innocent until proven guilty. But this was too fun to pass up. Chicago politics — what are you going to do?

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Related post: The New 5 Dollar Bill (Fun)

HT: Don Surber

Pastor Rick Warren presented President George W. Bush with the first “International Medal of PEACE” from the Global PEACE Coalition in recognition of his contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other diseases during the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health, held in Washington, D.C. on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.   World Magazine reports:

Since its inception five years ago, The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has treated more than 2.1 million people living with the virus around the world, which exceeded the administration’s goal. Prior to the president’s HIV/AIDS program, only 50,000 people were receiving antiretroviral treatment for AIDS.

Foes and friends alike of President Bush showered praise on him for PEPFAR, which promotes antiretroviral treatments administered through local clinics and churches around the world, mainly in Africa. Former President Clinton sent his commendation in a letter, while others did so by video, including President-elect Barack Obama, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, and rock star Bono, an outspoken activist in the fight against AIDS. “You are a hero, sir,” the leader of the band U2 said in his message to the president.

But the president, in a sit-down conversation with Warren, deflected any credit for the program. “I don’t deserve an award,” he said. “The people who made this policy work deserve an award.”

Gov. Sarah Palin talked with Matt Lauer yesterday at her home in Wasilla, AL. This is an interesting set of interviews in which Palin addresses matters concerning the campaign, her record and the various rumors spread by the press.

Today Show: “Never Any Tension” with McCain

Among the reports that Palin said were false were those involving her wardrobe, which was reported to cost the Republican campaign $150,000. She said no lawyers have been sent to retrieve the clothes, which she said she never asked for. A third of the garments were returned as not suitable to wear, she said; another third remained in the belly of her campaign plane, while the rest have been returned. Palin said she was happy to be wearing her own clothes again.

Today Show: At Home with the Family

Todd Palin told Lauer that the attacks on his wife during the campaign didn’t really filter through to them. “We were so busy with the campaign, there wasn’t much TV time,” he said, adding that the family wasn’t really fazed by it all anyway. “We’ve been in this long enough to understand it’s just part of the business,” he said. “It’s all a part of this beast called politics in America,” the governor added as she prepared food on her countertop.

President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office of the White House Monday, Nov. 10, 2008. White House photo by Eric Draper.

This was pretty neat — Wolf Blitzer conducting a live interview with reporter Jessica Yellin via hologram on election night.

(Video length: 3:57)

Update: Whoops, looks like this was not a real hologram after all. Apparently we could see Jessica on our television screens, but Wolf Blitzer could not see her in the studio.

Congratulations, Senator Obama! You ran a long and strenuous campaign, and you have now won the 2008 Presidential Election. You were not my candidate of choice, and I strongly disagree with many if not most of your policies. However, you are the duly-elected next President of the United States. Therefore, I will give you the full honor and respect due your position and pray for you accordingly. At the same time I will continue to work and vote for those policies I believe are best as is my right and duty in a representative government. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you and your family.

Sincerely,

Raymond E. Fowler
Feeding Hills, MA

____________________

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

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Here is a prayer for election day I shared with my church family earlier today:

Father in heaven,

I pray that you will give us wisdom today as we go to the polls to cast our votes. Help us as we make difficult decisions on a variety of issues and as we seek to elect godly men and women to positions of authority in our state and in our nation. Help us to trust you with the results. We pray against any voter fraud or corruption and ask that justice be done in each election.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Remember: pray early and often, but only vote once!

Here are three things to remember on Election Day. (These are from a message I shared in church on Sunday: A Christian in the Voting Booth.)

1. The gospel is bigger than politics: Our faith is in Christ, not in any political party or candidate. Barack Obama is not the messiah. John McCain is not the messiah. Jesus Christ is the Messiah who came to make things right in the world.
2. The church is bigger than political parties: God is neither a republican nor a democrat. Believers may disagree with each other on many issues, but that should not affect our fellowship in Christ. When we share communion together, we gather not as republicans or democrats or independents or libertarians, but as Christians, united together by our common faith in Christ.
3. God is bigger than elections: (This is a good one to remember not just on Election Day but also on the day after, especially if your candidate does not win.) No matter how strongly you feel about one candidate or another, and no matter how disappointed you may feel if one candidate wins instead of another, God is bigger than all that. If the early church was able to worship God and spread the gospel under Emperor Nero, if contemporary Christians are able to worship God and spread the gospel in Communist China, trust me: we will still be able to worship God and spread the gospel under either John McCain or Barack Obama. And whoever is elected president, you need to respect that person as your newly elected leader and pray for them accordingly.

God is sovereign. God is in control. Let us pray for the election, let us do our part in voting as responsible Christians, and then let us trust God with the results.

I will be publishing one of the following posts on Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s election. Which do you think it will be?

Post #1: Congratulations Senator Barack Obama!

Congratulations, Senator Obama! You ran a long and strenuous campaign, and you have now won the 2008 Presidential Election. You were not my candidate of choice, and I strongly disagree with many if not most of your policies. However, you are the duly-elected next President of the United States. Therefore, I will give you the full honor and respect due your position and pray for you accordingly. At the same time I will continue to work and vote for those policies I believe are best as is my right and duty in a representative government. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you and your family.

Post #2: Congratulations Senator John McCain!

Congratulations, Senator McCain! You persevered and defied all odds to win the 2008 Presidential Election in what should have been a Democratic year. I have had my problems with you in the past and did not vote for you in the primaries. However, I did vote for you on Tuesday as I felt you would do a better job as President than your opponents. I voted for you hoping that you will defend the rights of the unborn, cut government spending, protect our country during dangerous times, and appoint conservative judges to the bench. I trust you will fulfill these promises under which you campaigned and received my vote. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you and your family.

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