copy of this.com - From the moment I read the book, the audacity of hope, I realized a phenomenon had been with us for some time. I had watched with rapt
attention that speech, he gave in 2004 during the Democratic Party convention in the comfort of my sitting room at The Hague, opposite the magnificent Hollandspoor train station, some 500 meters away from my University, The Hague University of Professional Education. I knew Obama was going to make history, somehow without actually knowing what direction it was going to take. I knew the black man or as they say, the African-American was set to actualize a dream long dreamt by Martin Luther King, Jnr. The dream of Dr. King had been the dream of every black man and every person under one form of servitude or discrimination, or another, predicated on race, creed, religion and other trivialities. It was just a matter of time, I told myself and it was going to be sooner than later.
The campaign trail had taken a lot of energy and resources but my confidence had never been shaken, not even for a moment. A lot of buck passing had been going on. The opponents of the enigma called Obama from both parties were very ferocious and determined to push him by the side. On his side, he remained unruffled and natural. He weeded them out one after another. He outwitted them on every plank. He even out-cashed them and left them gasping and helpless at the end. Mrs. Clinton learned the hard way, how not to under-estimate any opponent and the enigmatic old horse, John Mc-Cain and Governor Sarah Palin simply cowed in after Americans handed over their fate to them. Barrack clinched the victory and Americans and the rest of the world celebrated exotically.
President Obama will soon settle down for the business of governing the American people and by extension, influencing and shaping emerging global trends. Mr. Obama will be faced with international issues ranging from security, terrorism and democracy. The sagacity and sharpness with which he and his team will attempt to tackle the issues affecting the world will define the policy thrust of the administration. The whole world awaits to see how the President will quickly address issues in some parts of Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Israel, Iran, South America and the Russian peninsular among others; issues of global warming, dwindling oil prices and the more pronounced global crunch affecting the world economy.
The Muslim world will especially wait to see how the President will engage his government on Middle Eastern issues after the catastrophic outing of the outgoing president Bush. The Iraqi issue will feature more prominently in the agenda of the President as the people of Iraq and the Muslim world have faulted Mr. Bush for acting on false intelligence to attack the country and forcibly, eject Saddam's government. The resulting catastrophe and consequent Iraqi quagmire have brought about a lot of deaths and destruction to the country and till date, no weapon of mass destruction on which the initial attack was predicated, is still found. The new American President needs to deploy all possible resources to bring back sanity to Iraq and chart a practicable exit strategy for the Americans to leave. He must, as he promised, dismantle the inhuman Guantanamo base and allow for free and fair trial of all detainees in regular courts.
Mr. Obama will also have to contend with the Israeli-Palestine issue escalation of which, has rightly or wrongly been attributed to the partisan bahaviour of succeeding American regimes since the establishment of the Israeli nation. Hamas and Fattah have both their stakes in the affairs of their country and any attempt to sideline any one of them will continue to bring problems to Israel. The Israeli nation must be made to recognize Palestine as one independent nation that is its neighbor while the Palestinians will also have to sit down at the negotiating table in order to attain a lasting solution in the region. It is America's historic responsibility to, in conjunction with other countries; lead the way in opening up dialogue that will bring lasting solutions to the problems. The people of Palestine deserve to live a normal life as human beings devoid of restrictions, barricades and bombardments in their own country while the nation of Israel can exist side by side with a truly independent Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations in the region. The current indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip which has already claimed the lives of more than 500 people in less than four days must be stopped.
The present global economic crunch came with a lot of negative consequences on the global economy. The way and manner the crisis is handled require a lot of seriousness and firmness. The planned 800bln dollar bailout package of the incoming president is already a good indicator that the administration is willing to take the bull by the horns. The stability of the global economy is a requisite for global peace and stability which the American nation stands for. Without stability in the global economy, issues of illegal immigration, hunger and starvation will continue to negatively affect the global stage.
President Obama will surely face a lot of problems even from within the American society, especially from the ultra-conservative camp of the Bushes. He will be attacked from left, right and center by those that are yet to come to the terms that there is now a black man in occupying the White House. But there is no doubting that Mr. Obama is equal to the task and can wither the storms. The new American President is a welcome enigma, a sigh of hope and an audacious character has conquered fear, intimidation and hopelessness. He is a beacon of hope; a symbol of unity for America and the world.
My fears for him are many. He may truly reflect all the positive optimism and hope being associated with him. He may truly turn out to be the real hope for the oppressed and the voiceless all over the world. Obama's may be the finest of all examples of a true American presidency. He may rule America with a heart of Washington and the intelligence of Clinton. His presidency may turn America into the real dream of its founding fathers; the home of democracy, equity, unity and positive audacity.
My fears for him are many. He may end up a disappointment to the American people and ultimately to the black race. He may make things worse than he will meet them. He may end up not as bright as his credentials suggest. His advisers may ill advise him on major local and international issues. In fact, I don't envy Mr. Obama for he may end up being caged by wolves, vultures and opportunists of different shades and colors.
My prayer is that Mr. Obama will not be consumed by the other side of American politics; the side that is poignant with dirt, deceits and even sleaze; the side that cleans and clothes itself with oil and is desperately and blindly obsessed with the black gold. I hope he will not be cowed by the cliché that could throw the world into chaos and anarchy, because of its dominant obsession with neo-colonization and hatred for other peoples' beliefs, way of worship and devotion. I have a strong belief that Obama; Mitchell's husband will come out triumphant in all these scenarios.
Finally, America's recent past will bring to Obama, more harm than good. The miscalculations and mistakes of Mr. Bush will hunt the new President on every move he makes, especially on the international arena. Mr. Obama will fight the war on terrorism as any contemporary American president would. Again, my fervent prayer for Mr. President here is to succeed in this inherited war of prejudice, ideologies and tested convictions. The whole world is praying for Obama not to be felled by the guns or other arsenals of a terrorist, whether a white extremist, a religious zealot or a suicide bomber. May God protect the President.