Obama and Rick Stevens

I guess I am pretty out of touch, but I didn't really have a clue about Rick Stevens, until his name came to the forefront these last couple of days. I had heard of his book, by virtue of the Brian Nichols murder case in Atlanta and the young woman, whom he kidnapped, who said she had read the book. Recently, I had also recently read a post about one of his wacky ideas. Now I am in the know.

There is a major outcry from the left about his selection to take part in the inauguration. This country is not the United States of the Left nor the United States of the Right. It is the United States of America. The President is supposed to represent all, not just one side or the other. Partisanship was one of the issues that came to the front during the recent election. Obama hasn't strayed from what he believes and has talked about throughout his campaign. He also talked about reaching out to those who disagree with him.

We elected Obama because he talked about change. Not just a change from right to left, but a change in the way the presidency does business on every front. Obama chose Stevens because he represents a large segment of the American public. He may not agree with all of what that group believes, but he is their president also. On the other hand, you can bet that the followers of Stevens do not agree with much of what Joseph Lowery espouses, yet he is also on the program.

Obama is making an attempt to show that he will try to represent everyone. I have no problem with that, and I hope that he is able to bring people together, at least in the spirit of cooperation. That is the only way we will move forward as a people. Otherwise, we are going to drift farther and farther apart. The farther we drift apart, the better the chance for something much worse than the Bush Administration to rise over us. Divide and conquer is not an idle phrase.