Barack Obama, a Kenyan-American, was elected the 44th president of the United States. This is an epoch making event. For the first time in history a black American was not only nominated as candidate of a major political party in the United States on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech in 1963, but Obama also became the President-elect overcoming all sorts of social, racial and political barriers. It happened after one hundred forty-five years of the emancipation of slavery.
It was fitting that Obama referred to the journey of Mrs Anne Nixon Cooper in his victory speech in Chicago on November 4. Mrs Cooper is a black American woman who is 106 years old. It demonstrated to the world how democratic principles are invoked and applied in the political process of the United States.
As I mentioned previously in this column ("Demonstration Effect of Democracy at Work," July 2, 2008), it is only possible in the United States. Obama said in his victory speech, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
Although Barack Obama talked about what Mrs Cooper had seen "throughout her century in America the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress," he did not mention Martin Luther King, Jr. even once in his speech. Instead, he referred to "a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that 'We Shall Overcome.'" Obama's demarche about not naming Martin Luther King was the same as his Democratic Party's nomination acceptance speech. He did not mention King's name in his entire speech, either. King was "a young preacher from Georgia."
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that "the American Dream" he is set "to reclaim" is part of the American dream to which Martin Luther King, Jr. referred. Obama is the embodiment of King's dream: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character."
Obama's worldview not only transcends the question of race and ethnic minorities, but also bridges the gaps that separate them and unite them for common interest towards the realisation of the American Dream. He reaffirmed, "to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright," "the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope." And he declared, "Change has come to America."
He is a US Senator of the first term only. As a political aspirant, he was just an ordinary citizen. He was nobody. He didn't have any particular family connections, nor did he have financial resources of his own.I doubt that the power of his sheer intellect, vision, energy, and compassion alone was enough to enable Barack Obama to seize the pinnacle of the national political landscape. There must be more to it than the particular individual's competence, organisational skills, and personality at any given moment of the political context.Obama recalled, "I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington, it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston."
He explained thus, "It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organised, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth.
Obama's victory was received with tremendous relief and delight throughout the world. Expectations about his leadership have soared. But the reality is not sweet and simple. Despite winning by a large majority in the Electoral College, he won the popular vote by a fairly narrow margin of about 52 percent.
Obama cannot afford to ignore a half of the American voters; the effectiveness of his leadership depends on the support of his fellow citizens. With "humility and determination to heal the divides" that resulted from the bitter and sometimes acrimonious election campaign, Obama took the first step of the healing process by saluting "a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity" that Democrats equally share.
Addressing "those Americans whose support I have yet to earn," he said, "I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too." As Heather L. Ruth predicts, "This Administration will be competent and well organised - regardless of race, creed or even politics - and they will hit the ground running." That is the message and Obama's intent all around.
These gestures are the strength of Barack Obama's poignant openness. Obama's such strength creates broad global expectations that he will not cast a new world in an ideological straight jacket; a new world under his watch will be much less dogmatic and confrontational, and more considerate and tolerant. In short, general expectations are the Obama administration will seek broader international co-operation than the coalition of the willing by forgoing George W. Bush's unilateralism.
But global issues that Obama inherits are daunting: the global financial crisis and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, just to name a few. Europe's enthusiasm about Obama notwithstanding, what Europe expects from the US differs from what the US wants from Europe: the number of willing Nato troops is diminishing in Iraq, and most European Nato troops in Afghanistan are not for combat purposes, and the on-going financial crisis has virtually obviated the possibility of more European troops in Afghanistan.
Differences in the extent of government intervention between Europe and the US hinder the closer integration required for global financial regulation. Obama's promise to withdraw US forces from Iraq cannot be an open invitation to the Iranians to expand its influence in Iraq and the region. How he will carry out that promise and how he will conduct a direct talk with the Iranians will shape the nature of the Iraqi government.
As suggested previously in this column ("The War in Afghanistan (I) & (II)," October 22 & 29), the war in Afghanistan has become Pakistan's war in its front yard. As it is looking more like "another Vietnam war" in Afghanistan, the solution to the war in Afghanistan cannot be more troops; rather, it requires negotiations with the Taliban.
For that, Pakistan's co-operation and involvement in the process is essential. With Russian President Dimitri Medvedev's announcement of the deployment of missiles in Kaliningrad immediately after Obama's election victory, the entire focus of the incoming US administration's foreign policy appears to be placed on Europe. Japan, the second largest economy of the world and a significant part of the Bush administration's coalition of the willing, is wondering what the future of the US-Japan relationship will be, and is worried whether the Obama administration will pay a much closer attention to China and India.
Challenge to Obama is that no foreign policy can succeed without the support of people at home. In the US all politics is local. He knows there are almost as many people voted against him as voted for him. I am optimistic that he will manage to have all divergent and competing interests coalesced into common purposes by his thoughtfulness and being considerate to others. I, for one, was touched by his thought of not using the toxic word in his phrase, "when the bombs fell on our harbour...," in his victory speech. A new dawn of American leadership is at hand.