Collegiate Times

As a Republican elected official, many people have asked me what I will be doing at noon on Jan. 20, when Barack Obama is sworn in as our nation's 44th President. Their question implies that as a leader in the opposition party, I will be dreading that moment. In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth.

While I did not vote for President Obama, his inauguration and the transfer of power that accompanies a presidential transition reinforces in me the unique and quintessential greatness of America and its system of government.  I pray for President Obama's success as our nation's chief executive because now his success is America's success.        

Our two political parties and their nominees fought a tough but fair campaign.  While the campaign played out longer than many of us thought necessary with party debates beginning more than a year before the general election, the process gave Americans unfettered access to the candidates and their views on any number of issues.

But the campaign is over and now it is time for the new president and Congress to govern.  Our nation faces enormous challenges -- a faltering economy, U.S. troops in harm's way in two foreign lands, and the search for a safe, affordable and environmentally benign source of energy that remains a futuristic dream.

President Obama takes office with an enormous reservoir of good will from an overwhelming majority of Americans. The economic news since the election has only brought more dark tidings for the nation and the new president.  Stimulus packages have been passed, but still an ever-growing number of Americans are afraid for their economic futures.

The problems confronting our nation will not be solved overnight.   I think the American public understands this and is prepared to give President Obama time to pursue the policy options he thinks necessary to turn things around.  Ironically, the dire state of the economy may be a mixed blessing for the president.  With the economy being the top issue on the minds of more than 80 percent of the country, he will likely find the public willing to give him the time to produce real results.  Consequently, President Obama may have the longest "political honeymoon" in our nation's history.  

So far I have been heartened by President Obama's appointments and his willingness to focus on goals that have real meaning to the nation.  By eschewing efforts to investigate the past, the new President has kept his and the country's sights set on the real problems of real Americans.  

As the President-elect began his train ride from Philadelphia Saturday, he noted correctly that "the American Revolution was and remains an ongoing struggle in the minds and hearts of the people."   

Today this great experiment in democracy is facing a new struggle that will require the same sense of commitment and sacrifice as our founders shared 233 years ago.  But it is up to each of us, as citizens of this great nation, to show that America is more than a mere coalition of self-interests.  The coming days and years ahead will challenge all of us to answer whether we are worthy of the trust placed in our hands.

As President Obama said, while the problems before us are new, the answers to them are not:  They require the same perseverance and idealism that our founders displayed.  

It is up to each of us to show we are worthy of the challenge.  

Dave Nutter, an economic development specialist at Virginia Tech, is also a  Republican delegate from the seventh house district, representing Christiansburg and parts of Blacksburg.