This past Sunday, as Christians around the world rejoiced in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Obama family continued White House Easter traditions by attending St. John’s Episcopal Church and hosting the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn.

That same day, President Barack Obama was contacted at his residence and told that a five-day standoff between Somali pirates and the U.S. Navy was over – Navy snipers killed the three pirates that had taken U.S. Captain Richard Phillips captive.

This was after Obama gave permission two times to use force in securing the captain.

Obama’s recent actions, from the Easter Egg Roll to adopting a family dog, from responding to North Korea’s rocket launch to overseeing the conflict with Somali pirates, reveal the nature of Obama’s presidency.

That nature is something I think merits credit in certain areas and criticism in others.

Obama displayed a subtle, confident handling of the pirate/hostage situation, which I think deserves respect.

It’s his job to make tough decisions that sometimes involve much pressure. In this case, he handled it well.

Obama’s mettle was also tested after a recent North Korean rocket launch. Obama called for a “strong international response” against Kim Jong Il’s defiant action.

“Words must mean something,” Obama said in reference to the multitude of sanctions and resolutions concerning North Korea.

However, Financial Times writer Andrei Lankov and many other experts said that more sanctions against North Korea will have no effect.

If Obama is going to guide the U.S. through an era of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, his policies must be bolstered by something other than rhetoric.

That may be an area where Obama – like past presidents – won’t meet par if he doesn’t change the current landscape.

Look to the Middle East.

Even if American troops do withdraw from the major cities of Iraq by June 30, the date set by the Obama administration, it’s not clear that Obama’s pledge “to support our Iraqi partners” will be the result of that withdrawal.

The New York Times reported on April 12 that recent attacks may foreshadow an increase of violence if troops withdraw from the country as planned.

There are also qualms concerning Obama’s economic policies and the current recession, which he and others are calling the worst since the Great Depression.

I am not qualified to be certain that Obama’s response to the economic crisis is what it should or shouldn’t be.

I recognize, though, that many leaders at the recent G-20 summit were not confident in Obama’s spending-money-to-make-money policies.

The president told the nation recently that he saw “glimmers of hope across the economy.”

He will be discussing challenges to the American economy and explaining his glimmers of hope comment today in what his staff is calling a “major speech on the economy” at 10:30 a.m. at Georgetown University.

Perhaps his speech will shed some light on the matter.

Divisions over social issues such as abortion and stem cell research are longstanding and stark, and whoever is president will face opposition.

That’s unavoidable. However, I think that Obama needs to make his decisions carefully.

Overturning a last-minute “conscience clause” approved by the Bush administration (which reportedly permits doctors to abstain from even providing information about abortion) may seem perfectly reasonable, especially in light of the rashness in which the clause was approved.

But Obama will be setting a precedent concerning abortion, and that precedent will affect doctors who don’t want to endorse what they consider to be murder.

It will also make unspoken declarations about when life actually begins.

As he moves through his 12th week as president, Obama has a lot of big issues on his plate. Most of these are extremely difficult decisions that will assuredly draw criticism from somewhere. Some of the current criticism is not warranted.

Some, I’d wager, is needed.