The year to come

2008 promises to be a year of both hope and challenge. The American people are beginning to show signs of weariness caused by unending foreign conflict, an uncertain economy, threats to the environment, consumer product safety and high gasoline prices. And that is just the top of the list. Jobs continue to be lost to cheap foreign labor, and no agreement can be reached on the illegal immigration problem.

We will hear all those issues debated ad nauseam until the elections are over in November. In a democracy such as ours, that is as it should be.

The hope for 2008 is for change. A national election always elicits that hope. Candidates will promise it, and most will actually mean it. The challenge for the American voter will be to pick the ones who have the courage and strength to implement it.

A change of national policy and direction has seldom been as critically needed as it is today. Many of the candidates in the President's own party are already distancing themselves from the record of his administration. They sense the urgency of the need for change as much as the Democrats do.

We will undoubtedly grow weary of what will turn out to be the longest presidential campaign in history. The first primaries are yet to be held, and we still have the nominating conventions and general elections facing us, accompanied by endless TV commercials. It sounds daunting, but it is the price we pay for the privilege to determine our own fate. It is a rare gift in today's world and one we should remember to cherish in this new year to come.