Perhaps, at Christmas, you sang clergyman Phillips Brooks' 1867 hymn whose first stanza begins "O little town of Bethlehem," and ends with "The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight." Substitute "Washington" for "Bethlehem" and you'll be right up to date on the " hopes and fears" bit.

With the election and holidays behind us and a difficult year ahead, it is time to take stock of where the nation is and where it might go. For Christians it is the season of Epiphany, a time for hope and new beginnings. For others, New Year's resolutions suffice.

Purple has recently commented on his fears - the dysfunctional Congress and the challenges the Republican Party faces. Now it is time to look hopefully at the executive branch.

A principal responsibility of any chief executive is to have a vision for his enterprise, to understand its strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats that confront it. Assessing these realities objectively becomes the foundation for developing a long range plan, and strategies to realize its goals. In the federal government this is the responsibility of the Executive branch, the President supported by a staff competent to flesh out the details. The President cannot expect the Congress - especially this Congress - to do this job for him, while he stays in the background. He must lead in developing, explaining and selling the plan - his plan for America - to the voters and the legislators who must enact implementing laws.

In his first term President Obama proved good at verbalizing issues, and generally sound in the direction he wished the nation to go. He was less effective in driving to successful conclusions in the manner of Lyndon Johnson or Harry Truman. It is now time for him to step up to the plate. The nation cannot afford to dither for four more years while problems of finance, tax policy, climate change, education, immigration, gun violence, infrastructure, reorganization of the military and a plethora of international hot spots fester and become more intractable.

One can sympathize with the post-election resignations of some cabinet officers. Senior jobs in government are exhausting. For Obama these resignations are both a problem and an opportunity to design a supporting cast to help manage difficult matters. Any good leader knows he (or she) must pick people with abilities that shore up the leader's own short suits, and that can work well as part of a team. President Obama has not had a deep background in management, but he now must become a forceful as well as an articulate leader.

Purple's experience in the Reagan administration exposed him to a talented senior team: Vice President George H.W. Bush, Chief of Staff Howard Baker, Secretary of State George Schultz, Jim Baker at Treasury, Frank Carlucci at defense, Ed Meese as Attorney General, his own boss Mac Baldrige at Commerce, and Clayton Yeutter as US Trade Rep. All brought deep executive and political experience to their jobs. When Reagan became less vigorous towards the end of his second term this team worked so well that few noticed the President's disabilities.

Obama must pick cabinet replacements carefully, and the Congress must not impede confirmation of his choices. The nation cannot afford partisan debate and delay to make political "gotcha" points. The President needs a full team of his choosing to do his difficult job effectively.

As citizens we must hope that the new team, under vigorous Presidential leadership, can revitalize or overcome a dysfunctional Congress and put the country on a path from fear of the future to hope for it. In 1867, at a time of great post-Civil War turmoil, our hymn's author, New Englander Phillips Brooks, gives us this hope in his third Stanza:

"The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, And Christmas comes once more."

Our children are counting on it. And so are we.