Dear Mr. President,

Dear President Obama,

First, let me offer my congratulations to you on your election and inauguration. You have achieved your goal and your dream and because of your achievement many marginalized children who never dared dream to reach the highest office in our land can now do so. "I want to be President" is a dream no longer left only to the privileged few, but is now something for all to reach for. You demonstrate what education, intelligence, and integrity can lead to.

As you begin your Administration, you face challenges that few Presidents have contended with. The economy is failing, people are losing their jobs, the poor are getting poorer while the rich get richer, some by devious and outright deceptive means. There are two wars that continue to claim the lives of American fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. These wars also continue to claim the lives of innocent civilians by the thousands. The threat of new terrorist attacks is always present. Our backs are bent, but not broken; our hearts hurt, but they still hope. I make this pledge to you Mr. President that I will pray for you everyday. I will pray that God gives you wisdom and strength to make the toughest of decisions. But more than this, I pledge to your my hands, my heart, and my mind to the task that is before us. I will work to be a part of the solution and not the problem.

You ran on a platform of hope and change. You have ignited a country with a renewed sense of hope. Your words are eloquent and filled with passion and determination. They inspire millions, they inspire me. However, I want you to understand this, and above all let me make this point abundantly clear, I will hold you accountable to promises you made and to the standards of faith that we both share as Christians. No person is perfect and I, and the rest of American, do not ask for perfection, but I, and the rest of America, have spent the last 8 eight years being hoodwinked, promised one thing and given another, and we will not stand for it any longer.

Today is the dawning of a new day and a new era for America. You have my support and my prayers. Let us all, Republicans, Democrats, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, and atheists work together for a better America and better tomorrow.

Yours faithfully,

Reverend Brad Smith