Essay: Barack Hussein Obama

A new era dawns on America, the inauguration of the first black President of the USA is no small feat. People tuned in and turned out in unprecedented numbers. The joy, the shouts of “yes we can”, the hope, and the expectation of a nation and, to a large extent, the world are upon Barack Hussein Obama.

His inauguration speech was eloquent yet restrained. He could have opted for the uplifting, celebrity speech that many have come to expect from him. Instead, he used metaphors to refer to the troubled times facing America and the era of change that lies ahead. It made sense to prepare people for times to come. He has inherited a complete mess from Bush, some his fault and others just bad luck. The economy is in crisis, America is a social pariah in the world, energy, and the environment are main concerns, a prickly Russia, a rising China, rising unemployment, a healthcare system bursting at the seams, the list of problems goes on. He will certainly change America’s course, but surely this is just way to much burden for one man to bear? I fear he may end up merely managing one crisis to the next given the gravity of the situation

We have seen such presidential hopes before. The young, passionate John F Kennedy gave a rousing speech and endless promises, setting himself enormous tasks to fulfill. Could he have fulfilled all those promises? His untimely death will always lead us to mere speculation. The truth is, probably not. His successor, Lyndon Johnson, was far more productive in getting things done domestically but had his reputation butchered, and quite wrongly so in my opinion, due to Vietnam.

Anyway I digress, can Obama fair any better? He has the most powerful yet difficult job in the world. Although the power of the presidency increased throughout the twentieth century power doesn’t lie solely with him. He shares power jointly with Congress and is scrutinized carefully by the Supreme Court. Hopes of a bi-partisan coalition seem great on paper and will maybe work in the short term but seriously, how long can it really go on for? Not long in my view.

However there are some things he really can achieve. Never underestimate optimism, it has been a long time since America has felt anything close to this and this new feeling alone can do a lot to change America. He carries with him hopes, he is young, handsome, intelligent, and largely closes one of the lasting divisions within America, that of race. He will surely be able to change America’s international reputation now Bush’s Manichaean arrogance has gone and a more mild and tempered approach is adopted, along with a new respect for following rules and laws both abroad and home. The economy is another matter altogether and time can only tell how that one pans out.

The next four to eight years may turn out to be a disappointment, a triumphal renewal, or something in between. His speech was strong and passionate, but that was the easy part, now it’s time to put those words into action. He is an inexperienced man in a forbidding world yet has a good and centrist team around him and there is nothing that Obama could be doing better at the moment. Good luck, you are certainly going to need some!