Faithful Politics

I have been working my way through President Bush’s recently released biography, Decision Points.  Hearing the perspective of someone in that powerful of a position will always be fascinating.  But what makes W.’s biography particularly interesting is his explanations for the more controversial decisions that he made during his tenure as president.  If you step back and analyze his choices from that vantage point they all seem highly defensible.

I realize this is quite a bold statement to make of a president that held record low approval ratings, and my point is not to defend a controversial president to those who are predisposed against him.  What I am trying to say is that, no matter which president we are talking about, if you take a look at the situation from their perspective it will be harder to condemn them.  Presidents Obama and Bush have made decisions that have infuriated nearly everyone in the country at one point or another.  And as Christians we certainly have the duty to stand for justice when our President errs, but let us also keep in mind that we will never know all the facts.  A good dose of Christian charity towards an unpopular president, whether he’s a Democrat or Republican, should be a part of our Christian political philosophy.