by Hugh Holub

Created on: December 05, 2008   Last Updated: January 27, 2009

No. The Second Coming is not at hand.

The hype surrounding Barak Obama's ascendancy to the Presidency reminds one of how the Second Coming might look if it was produced by Hollywood.

Not surprisingly, in an environment of gloom and doom, people will look for hope.

Obama emerged at exactly the right time to give millions something to hang onto when the world seemed to be crashing down around them.

His voice and words are inspirational. He is a preacher coming from a long line of people who could point the way to the Promised Land and get us marching through the desert on the road to a better place. Martin Luther King proclaimed he had a dream, and many followed through decades of struggle to see that dream start to become reality. We need those inspirational voices to keep us on the high road.

We are a unique society and nation. To be an "American" is not to be white or Protestant, or some ethnic identity like most nations. To be an American is to share a set of dreams and values.

One of those American dreams is that all of us are created equal with the opportunity to rise above where we were born and become whoever our potential is through hard work and sacrifice. Obama is a symbol to many of the truth of that belief. That he was elected says a lot about who we really are as Americans. That is good.

But we have not obviously arrived in the Promised Land. And we have not obviously fully realized the American Dream.

It is still a work in progress. We still have many things to do to make this country a whole lot better for everyone.

We need inspirational leaders and voices like Obama to keep us on the high road to achieve our dreams.

So, not surprisingly, there are expectations that Obama is this year's leader to the Promised Land..

But, if you listen to Obama's message, it is clear he is turning the mirror back onto us for the work that needs to be done to make America a better place.

He is not pretending to be the Savior. He is saying we have to save ourselves.

Obama is telling us that we must struggle to be more and better than we are. He is calling us to roll up our sleaves and get to work. He is not promising everything is going to magically get better just because he's in office now.

Many aren't listening to his message. Probably they will be disappointed when they realize that the Second Coming was a creation of the media.

Obama said put away childish things. Grow up. Quit all the sniping and partisan bickering.

When Biden made his nasty little joke about Chief Justice

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