I had a most revealing conversation with a young lady a few weeks ago. She communicated to me that she had read my article titled “Just my Imagination,” and thought it was a very good article until she got to the part that mentioned President Barack Obama. To put it simply, she verbalized that she did not like Obama and thinks he is the worst president we have ever had. She said that Obama was not a Christian and his name should not be in the same paragraph with Christianity. I listened tentatively for her to defend her position on what she had communicated to me about the president, but it never came. I would think that one has reasons for disliking something or someone.

As I recall the article did not in anyway suggest that President Obama was a Christian. However, research reveals that President Barack Obama is a Christian by choice. Usually children adopt the religion of their parents or grandparents. President Obama’s parents and grandparents did not go to church very much, therefore as a youngster he did not claim a religion. However, when he grew up he chose Christianity as his religion and joined the congregation of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Chicago, Ill. When he became president, he departed from that congregation. He now worships as a Christian at Camp David.

Personally, as a human being I cannot look into the soul, heart and mind of anyone to determine what religion they internalize. That is left to someone on a much higher spiritual level. As Christians we are taught not to judge or we will be judged. Who am I to determine what’s in a person’s heart?

In view of the president’s accomplishments; research reveals quite a few things in spite of a congress that seeks to dismantle everything he attempts. A few of his accomplishments are:

(1) Health care reform, (2) Passed the Stimulus Recovery Act, (3) Ended the war in Iraq, (4) Began drawdown on war in Afghanistan, (5) Eliminated Osama bin Laden, (6) Turned around U.S. auto industry, (7) Recapitalized banks, (8) Repealed “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” (9) Toppled Muammar Gaddafi, (10) Told Mubarack to go, (11) Reversed Bush torture policies, (12) Improved America’s image abroad, (13) Kicked banks out of Federal Student Loan programs, (14) Expanded Pell Grant spending, (15) Boosted fuel efficiency standards, (16) Coordinated international response to financial crisis, (17) Pass mini stimulus, (18) Increased support for veterans, (19) Tightened sanctions on Iran, (20) The economy is slowly increasing despite the snow and the government shut down, (21) Unemployment is slowly decreasing.

This by far does not come close to enumerating all of the president’s accomplishments. It is just a few.

It is my humble opinion that this is not a president who has done nothing to move the country forward. On the contrary, I see a Congress whose main focus is, and has been set on, doing all it can to stop everything the president attempts since he took office. Therefore, in order to get anything accomplished, to a large extent, he has had to by-pass Congress.

We all have our opinions. This is my opinion based on research and available facts. When I consider where the country was when President Barack Obama took office and where it is today, I think he has done exceptionally well, and he did it “Against all odds.”

CLYDE JOHNSON is a retired health physicist for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He lives in Franklin, and can be contacted at 562-4402.