The Obama promise

A Barack Obama presidency holds the potential of rebirth for a country that has been falling apart at the seams since 2001. Like most aspiring leaders, he has promised a great deal. We all know politicians rarely accomplish most of what they promise, and Obama could very well be too overwhelmed by the United States’ financial troubles to be an exception to the rule.

A Barack Obama presidency holds the potential of rebirth for a country that has been falling apart at the seams since 2001.
Like most aspiring leaders, he has promised a great deal. We all know politicians rarely accomplish most of what they promise, and Obama could very well be too overwhelmed by the United States’ financial troubles to be an exception to the rule.
But his election could prove there is a willingness amongst the public to usher in real change if the next four years allows it.
The senator from Illinois, and maybe president-elect by the time you read this, owes his success to his ability to articulately personify America’s dissatisfaction with its current leadership.
There is therefore a great deal Americans can look forward to.
The most important asset America is likely to gain with Obama is a sense of confidence. A country’s economic engine has a lot to do with its sense of collective resolve, as evidenced by America’s booms following victories in World War I and II, as well as the Cold War.
In the wake of the Bush administration’s blunders, America is feeling the same sense of wounded pride it felt after the Vietnam War. It took a charismatic leader in the form of Ronald Reagan to lift American spirits then, even if Reagan’s policies and actions were far from perfect.
Obama’s policies will also likely be far from perfect and are sure to be subject to debate in a re-election bid four years from now. But there is no doubt he has a unique ability to make Americans feel good about themselves, and their future, whilst making the world feel good about America. That in itself is the first step towards a recovery.
Although there is no perfect way to manage a failing economy, Obama pragmatism is the right approach. He will bring educated and experienced minds, with differing points of view to the table, rather than rule by strict ideology. Although not a guarantee of success, the strategy is an intelligent one.
Amongst all the talk of his foreign policy philosophies, The Economist pointed out in their endorsement of Obama that his election alone would “dispel many of the myths built up about America.” America’s enemies, whether they are Islamist leaders, left-wing dictators, or authoritarian superpowers, would find it much harder to demonize the American people with Obama as president.
Armed with willingness for dialogue, and an understanding of subtlety, Obama could reduce tensions between America and its rivals while renewing American moral superiority in the global community.
Nothing is likely to happen quickly, but Obama would be sure to move America’s seven-year-old War on Terror forward by leaving Iraq, focusing on Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and closing Guantanamo Bay.
On climate change, if America fails to take up the lead, the world’s other energy-consuming giants will continue to drag their feet for decades to come. Obama’s “Manhattan Project” ambitions on the subject of energy independence and carbon emissions are a promising attitude. Since his plans focus on job creation, they may have a fighting chance to be enacted in an economic crisis.
Realistically, Obama may not be able to completely reform the heavily flawed health care system. But he could, at the very least, regulate the health insurance industry to make insurance more affordable and reliable for lower income and middle-class Americans.
Finally, Obama’s pragmatic nature would allow him to amend his spending plans should they become unaffordable in America’s economic and financial future. On the other hand, should he see an opportunity to boost the economy through spending like Franklin Roosevelt did during the Great Depression; he would not hesitate to consider it. McCain, on the other hand, is ideologically committed to a smaller role for government.
With $10 trillion in debt, and the possibility of a $1 trillion annual deficit, the country could benefit from hearing all ideas from all points of view.
President Obama promises are grand, but the times are tough, and four years will tell which of them become realities. Still, given the enormous potential for America to rebound, Obama’s could be a truly historic presidency.

Related Posts