M. Mills  

Like many of you, I watched in shock as President-elect Obama jumbled the oath that would remove the word "elect" from his title. My initial thoughts were that the man who had run such a stellar campaign, this pillar of consistency and calm could be, well, human. Michelle's face showed the disbelief and shock as well. It was only later that I learned that Chief Justice Roberts had botched the words, not our new president, who knew them cold. My mind immediately raced to the doubters who would celebrate this as evidence the man wasn't ready for the task. Or worse, that we'd see lawsuits claiming the required 35 word oath was not administered by the noon deadline in the manner prescribed by our Constitution and the laws of ascension. All these fears were put to rest by Constitutional experts, and President Obama is indeed the rightful and official leader of our nation.

But what really blew me away and is a lesson for each of us is the grace and humanity President Obama showed later during an interview with ABC's Robin Roberts. She kidded the president about the blunder but placed blame for the mishap squarely on Justice Roberts' (no relation) shoulders. Asking POTUS (President of the United States) what he felt about the error, most of us would have replied with some form of "throw the dude under the bus" or "it's OK, we all make mistakes" rhetoric. Simply, we Americans have a burning desire to be "right." We feel compelled to score points on the backs of others, which continues to build a culture of distrust, partisanship and rancor in our halls of government at every level - national, state and local. But President Obama did neither, and it is why I am increasingly hopeful he can build the consensus necessary to guide us through these troubling times.

President Obama replied, loosely attributed here, that "Well, we both obviously had a lot on our minds but seemed to get through it OK." Are you kidding me? Who wouldn't have said, "Yes, Chief Justice jumbled the first part, but we fixed it at the end. No hard feelings, really." An answer like that would have been acceptable and even viewed by most as pretty straightforward and kind. It surely wouldn't have been directly mean or malicious. However, in the art of relationships, and the delicate balance of Washington, it would have been a direct affront to Chief Justice Roberts' and his likely existing, human feeling of
embarrassment or regret.

But Barack Obama showed he feels no immediate need to score cheap political points. In fact, he displayed a grace in understanding that the right thing to do was to let the guy off the hook. This small and likely unnoticed action won't change the balance of power today or bridge the deep ideological divides between Chief Justice Roberts and President Obama. But that action humanizes the discourse between leaders. It soothes the ego and little by little, adds a civility in Washington that can lay the foundation for a true dialogue about the dire issues that confront us. And in the end, that small act of continuing to do the right thing gives me hope!

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