Patient we must be

Twenty-eight years ago an untested President took office during a period of serious economic challenges. Unemployment was nearly eight percent nationally and in some areas, including Ohio, as high as 12 to 14 percent. Interest rates for business loans in some areas of the country hit a staggering 17.5 percent. Mortgages were 7, 8, and 9 percent, putting home ownership out of the reach of many.

Americans were optimistic as President Ronald Reagan took the oath of office. They knew his efforts would require bold and swift action and an innovative program (later known as the Reagan Revolution) - aimed at reinvigorating the economy and the American people.

Today we have another untested President with a new set of challenges... unquestionably the most difficult in many decades. President Barack Obama has brought together, if not the most talented team of cabinet officers in history - then at least one of the most talented teams. Working with members from both political parties in the U.S. Congress, they must rebuild the economy and put us back on the path of prosperity, save the environment, protect our nation's security, withdraw our troops from Iraq, and replace the distrust other nations feel toward us with trust.

As the new President said in his Inaugural Address last Tuesday, "We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done."

The President's task is not easy. He will be continuously challenged by changing events. It is difficult to ask people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, people who have lost much of their savings, people who are unemployed, people who are trying to save their homes from foreclosure, and people who are struggling just to put food on the table to be patient. But, patient we must be.