Obama’s challenges of change

Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th president of the United States of America, was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father, Barack Obama Sr. was born and raised in a small village in Kenya. It was in Hawaii where he would meet Barack’s mother, and that fact was emphasized more than once during his presidential campaign, as a tribute to the values of America which allowed such a chain of events to not only happen, but to have a huge impact on the United States as a country itself, because a child from such a marriage can not only run for the president of the United States, but win the elections as well.

To have a truly honest look at what challenges Barack Obama is facing as the new president of the United States, we have to look back at the situation president Obama is inheriting from his predecessor George W. Bush. Famous comedian Chris Rock said in one of his specials that George Bush messed up so badly he made it hard for a white man to run for president (reference to the two favorites being Barack Obama an African American and Hillary Clinton a white woman, as well as the issues John McCain was facing as the successor of the failed politics of George Bush).

Is it really that bad? The terrorist attacks of 9.11, the Afghanistan campaign, war in Iraq, inability to adequately respond to the challenge of hurricane Katrina, while all this time the state of the US economy was getting worse by the day, resulting in the biggest housing crises of all time, which lead to a record number of foreclosures in June of 2008. These are the most well known issues and challenges Obama inherits, but that’s only a part of the problem. The other part is the fall of the United States in the eyes of the world. The image of the USA has been deteriorating significantly over the last few years, as a result of the foreign policy lead by the Bush administration that culminated in a shoe throwing incident involving a journalist and president Bush. Obama has been hailed as the clear savior of not only the Democratic party, but of the integrity of American politics. These are the challenges he faces, but what is it can he do about them?

President Obama is ready for change, that has been the slogan of his campaign, that is what his voters, fans, admirers and followers are expecting of him. Barack Obama was the candidate of change, it is now time to deliver. Obama is without a doubt a talented politician, blessed with great rhetorical skills, which he made great use of during the campaign. Everyday his rhetoric made the number of his followers grow, they believed in what he asked of them, they believed change was needed and they believed he was the one that would bring them that change.

How will he change America? The biggest talking point of the election and one of the biggest challenges Obama faces is the resurrection of the US economy. The way he plans to tackle the issue is by raising minimum wage to follow the inflation. His plan is simple, the raise in prices will be met by the raise in wages so people don’t suffer because of higher prices. The problem caused by the economic crisis is the problem of foreclosures, where president Obama plans to put a stop to irresponsible brokers who put families in danger by suggesting higher tariffs families often can’t afford.

One of the issues most notable is Iraq. What will happen with the troupes in Iraq? Obama’s campaign for change made a strong emphasis on the fact Obama never voted for the war in Iraq, making him the sole presidential candidate of such. Now it is time to fulfill his legacy, it is time to act, take responsibility for his choice and to prove his vote against the war was not only a „vote for votes“. Obama’s plan includes a withdrawal of 2 battle units a month for 16 months. "The longer our troops stay in Iraq the more time their leaders have to waste" Obama said. The best way to force Iraqi leaders to take responsibility for their future is for American troops to leave Iraq.

As opposed to the war in Iraq issue, president Obama was always in favor of the intervention in Afghanistan and he feels the job there has not been done yet. Afghanistan is more violent then in 2001, so this is an issue that needs resolving not by starting a new rash war, as was the case with Iraq, but by concentrating on ending the situation in Afghanistan in a successful manner. In such attempts Obama has mentioned a possibility of talks with Iran as well as potential dialogue between the Afghan government and elements of the Taliban willing to negotiate a solution. However the Bush administrations saw no indication of such from the Taliban, so it remains to be seen how Obama will handle this issue. President Obama remains commited to the haunt for Osama bin Laden, that has already taken to long, without any real sign of success. The question remains if bin Laden is caught, will it have any effect on the war against terorism? The expirience with Sadam Hussein tells us most probably there will be no possitive effect what so ever.

He campaigned against public office being awarded alongside party lines, and has committed to returning public office to those who are most qualified and deserve the job the most. His campaign was marked with a promise he will not except another donation from any of the lobbies, it was time to put an end to the power of lobbies in Washington. Ending discrimination when it comes to jobs is a major talking point, president Obama plans to end sexual, racial and other forms of discrimination of people applying for work.

Where Obama can make a big change and really start to make the world once again see the image of a powerful United States of America, is turning to, what Joseph Nye referred to as „soft power“. The opportunity of using the system of values that the United States live by, to try and show the world, that this is the right way to go, this is what should be the most important thing. Take a step away from weapons, from using force as such, let’s use the ideas, let’s use the technology, let’s use the influence in the world the United States of America has, to show the world peacefully that the right choice is to accept what the US stands for, because it will eventually lead to the right end, a better life for all. The United States offer its hand to whomever is willing to take the hand offered, Obama said during his inauguration speech.

What president Obama needs to take into account and learn from is the experience of the Eastern European countries, which went trough tremendous change themselves after the fall of communism. When one looks at those examples, two things come to mind. 1. The change is never going to come as fast as people hope. 2. The change will never be the magnitude people want it to be. How will the people of the United States of America react once they see the tempo and the magnitude of the change is not as such as they wished for when they voted for Barack Obama? Will partial change be enough to convince them that he is on the right track, but needs more time? Will changes in only some of the areas of life be enough? These are all questions Obama will no doubt face in the future, because it is highly unlikely he can live up to all his campaign promises. Will he take a more radical course of action in his first year of presidency and tend to ease up as he comes closer to end of his term in office, as it is so often the case, because people tend to forget, and they have 3 more years to forget before the next election? After all one can take a look at president Obama's cabinet and wonder what is all the talk of change, if one puts together such a conservative cabinet, as Obama's is believed to be. Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Timothy Geitner, Larry Summers, Robert Rubin, one can wonder why did a member of the African American community put together a cabinet full of "KKK" members so to say (This is not meant to sound racial, but more of a picture of how the situation looks, a progressive man together with conservative members of cabinet, total difference in values, such opposites fighting for the same goal)? Does this really bring change?

What if Barack Obama fails? The situation president Obama finds himself in is of great historic value, and he bears a huge responsibility to the people he represents and the minorities he belongs to. If Barack Obama fails change will never sound so good again, followers will become harder to come by, the trust in politics and in politicians who rely on people for their support and votes will take a huge hit. It is important that president Obama succeeds in at least some of the areas he tends to work on, so people do not lose hope, he so spectacularly gave them, if for no other reason than to not make an election of another African American president impossible in the next hundred years.

My personal affiliation towards Barack Obama is not one of issues, competence, nor is it one of qualification, it is one of historic meaning of what Barack Obama has accomplished in being elected president of the United States of America. Not to long ago Obama would not have been served at the same restaurant as the white people that voted for him, he would not have been allowed to ride the same bus as the white people that voted for him. This maybe just a symbol that racism no longer rules America, this may be the national apology for slavery that was long coming, but this does not change the the irony of the fact that people of all races elected Barack Obama, a member of the African American community to resurrect, what white men made become the fallen image of the president of the United States of America.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/12/wag_the_blog_is_the_obama_cabi.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97022201
http://www.barack-obama-president.com/
http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/obamas-afghanistan-plan
http://books.google.com/books?id=G5oZZyq9t3UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=barack+obama&lr=&as_brr=0&rview=1#PPA19,M1


Dejan Bradic