An Open Letter To Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President:  

It is with all due respect and honor for the office of the President of The United States of America that I write this open letter to you.  The office you now hold, and have held for slightly more than four years, is without doubt the highest office in our land, and perhaps the most influential office in the entire free world.   On that cold day in January 2009, you stood before the American people, a host of cameras and news organizations being present, placed your hand on a Bible, and repeated the following words (with but slight variance):

“I do solemnly swear 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, so help me God.”

That oath administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been repeated by 43 men who preceded you in that office; 43 men who have shaped the course and destiny of this nation; 43 men who have stood before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and made a promise to fulfill that office faithfully and to the best of their ability.  That oath was taken in the presence of the citizens of this nation and the God Who has so blessed this nation with the liberties we now enjoy.   Every single word in that oath of office is significant. 

That oath consists of only thirty-eight words that take less than one minute to repeat; but words that have profound meaning.  For one thing it is a personal oath.   “I do solemnly swear” make up a quartet of words that place the burden square upon your shoulders to fulfill that oath.  You avowed that you would, to the best of your “ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  If you fail in fulfilling that promise you can blame no one but yourself.  The failures during your first term in office are glaring, but your complete lack of willingness to accept the responsibility for your failures is even more evident.   You have sought to blame everyone but yourself, criticizing the Supreme Court in a State of the Union message, while openly ridiculing those who would hold to their “guns, Bibles, and religion.”  You made the promise, Mr. President, that you would bear the responsibility for your failures when you spoke those four words.  It is time for you to live up to your promise.

The oath you took four years ago recognized an authority upon which you, and the forty-three Presidents before you, based your decisions and actions as Commander and Chief of this mighty nation.  That authority is the Constitution of the United States.   It is not the Muslim Sharia, the United Nations, international law, or personal likes and dislikes.   The Constitution of the United States of America sets forth the lawful procedure for the everyday operation and function of this government. Your attempts to circumvent that Constitution by “executive orders” and “recess appointments” demonstrates either an ignorance of the Constitutional process or an unwillingness to abide by the Constitution which you vowed to uphold. 

The oath of office was something to which you, and your predecessors, did “solemnly swear.”  You made a promise Mr. President!   Campaign promises may sometimes be difficult, or impossible to fulfill due in no little part to circumstances beyond your control.  But that to which you swore in that oath are not open for negotiation, alteration, or compromise.   You clearly stated, “I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States.”  Most of our Presidents have fulfilled the duties of the office admirably.  It is because they know what it means to serve.  You have failed to “execute” the office of President, not asking what you can do for the country, but what the country can do for you!  Your extravagant life style, golf outings, and multiple vacations all attest to your failure to “execute” that office in service to the people.

Perhaps your greatest failure as President of these United States is the stark contrast between the last four words of that oath and the leadership you have provided the American people in view of those words, “So help me God!”  May I humbly submit that you have not only forgotten the God of Heaven (if indeed you ever believed in Him at all), you have trampled upon His word and done despite to the Creator Who has so blessed this country for more than two centuries.  Recall, if you will, that memorable day when you turned to the Chief Justice, placed you hand on the Bible, and called upon the God of Heaven to stand as a witness to your oath of office.   When you said those four words, “So help me God,” here is what you implied:

First, by placing your hands on the Bible, you called the God of the Bible as a witness to that sacred promise you so avowed.   With the closing words, “so help me God,” you sought His assistance in fulfilling that vow.   Mr. President, have you at any time sought God’s wisdom in the decisions you have made as the leader of this country?  Did you seek God’s wisdom and guidance when you affirmed your approval and support for same-sex marriages?  Have you ever sought God’s will in the matter of abortion?   Even today, as I write this letter, you stood before an assembly of Planned Parenthood and offered encouragement and support to the largest abortion provider in the world.   Have you, Mr. Present, ever asked God what He thinks about homosexuality, same-sex marriages, or any other ethical and moral issues that confront our nation?   Have you ever opened that book upon which you placed your hand on that cold January morning to see what God says about such matters?  Those four words, “So help me God,” are more, much more, than some dignified way to simply close an inaugural swearing in; those four words mean something.  To speak those words without due reverence for the God of heaven and His divine will in matters pertaining to your oath of office and service as President, is a mockery of the God of heaven and the Bible upon which you placed your hand.   But in your first term when your will crossed the will of the Father, you completely ignored His will and sought the will of the people rather than the will of the Almighty.  

Finally, you vowed that you would preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  “Defend”!  Men and women have died to defend the Constitution!   Blood has been shed around the world to defend the Constitution.  From the shores of Normandy, to the killing fields of Cambodia, oceans of blood have been spilled to keep the Constitution  and to preserve our liberty.   In my generation we lost more than 50,000 young men in Vietnam in order to defend and protect the Constitution.   The “greatest generation” of the 1940’s and 50’s fought in Germany, Italy, Africa, and the Pacific to liberate a world oppressed by tyranny so all of us could enjoy the greatest freedom in the history of the world.   That generation, as well as my generation, now feel betrayed by the “transformation” you are seeking to bring to America.   Your disregard for the Constitution, the due process of law, and most of all your disregard for the Bible and God Who blessed you to be seated in the highest office in the world have left my generation bewildered, troubled, and fearful of what lies ahead for our children and grandchildren. 

For two-hundred-thirty years every President of these United States of America has stood with his hand on the Bible and taken that oath of office you took in 2009, and which you reaffirmed in 2013.   We pray that God would grant you wisdom so that you would rule according to the dictates of God’s divine will.  To do otherwise will leave you with a legacy of failure, and a fearful expectation of the judgment of God that you will face after this nation has long passed into ruin. 

 Tom Wacaster