Wanted: American Savior. Salary negotiable.

In a poignant op-ed in today's Washington Post, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) imagines what Dr. King would say to President Obama. Lewis is the last surviving speaker who stood on the dais where Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech, delivered this day 48 years ago. The piece is really an unsubtle letter to President Obama. It also doubled as a classified advertisement. WANTED: American Savior. Job: Impossible. Required Skills: Miracle-making/BYOW (bring your own wand). Hours: Terrible. Grief: Unending. Salary: Negotiable. Right person can succeed. Send resume and references to: Hope-And-Change-You-Promised.com.

Congressman Lewis writes:

Today, Dr. King would still be asking questions that reveal the moral meaning of our policies. And he would still challenge our leaders to answer those questions — and to act on their beliefs.

Among those leaders, I know he would take a special interest in President Obama — not only because he is the first African-American to sit in the Oval Office, but because Dr. King recognized the power of one man to transform a nation.

He would say that the president has the capacity to unify America, to bring us together as one people, one family, one house. He would say that a leader has the ability to inspire people to greatness, but that to do so he must be daring, courageous and unafraid to demonstrate what he is made of.

Transform a nation. Unify America. Inspire people to greatness. Those are tall (if not impossible) orders for any president ― even for the gifted Mr. Obama. Is it reasonable or even fair to burden him with them?

Think about it in context. The Founders, collectively, inspired and transformed the nation. But even during the American Revolution, support for the patriots was never more than a bare majority (40-45%). Lincoln too was transformational but it came at the cost of a terrible Civil War. Though FDR cemented national unity in WWII, Pearl Harbor, not he, was the 9/11-like trigger for it. JFK certainly inspired but he was martyred before he could leave a true legacy. Even Dr. King, as Lewis noted, was a highly controversial figure in his time, even in the black community. One man ― an activist, a revolutionary, a president ― can indeed influence the course of history. In Mr. Obama's case, it is unfolding before our eyes.

And yet there is this forlorn but fervent hope for a savior. Lewis and other well-meaning folk hope, nay pray, it is Obama. But that is a role only Christ himself can play. Earthly leaders, mortals all, can inspire and shepherd us along Dr. King's bending arc to justice. The best of them, as Lewis says, must be morally-grounded and unflinching in the face of adversity. Their tasks are not risk-free. Yet in the end, as Obama has said, we are the ones we've been waiting for. The savior lies inside of us. That is how hope is nurtured and change is made. That is why America has surmounted impossible odds. That is why she still lives. That an African American president leads the country today speaks volumes about our potential. Obama is not Moses. He is more akin to the sergeant on point during a battlefield patrol. His role is to guide, motivate and protect his charge, not lead them to The Promised Land. That part is on us.

The congressman's op-ed is a worthy read. President Obama would be wise to take its essence to heart. It is a timely reminder of his higher responsibilities as leader. Given the nature of politics, there is of course a practical limit to what Mr. Obama can do before 2012. After it, however, there is a great deal more he can achieve in weaving the threads of his ultimate legacy. I have little doubt that Obama will do Rep. Lewis and Dr. King proud, God willing.