Obama raises the hand of history
Posted on 23 January 2009 by Shamik Das
“I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States; So help me God.”
With those fateful, fumbled words, Barack Obama staggered over the finish line to become the 44th President of the United States of America to the delirium of literally billions around the world.
Those few minutes after noon on January 20, 2009, on the steps of the Capital in Washington DC, were laced with so much history, pride and emotion that one could forgive the new President and the Chief Justice their minor stumble, which no doubt drew a wry smile from Obama’s gaffe-prone predecessor, the now ex-President Bush.
History was made not only because Obama was the first African-American to become the president of the United States, but because the people of America and in all four corners of the globe were made to listen to a man who spoke with a rare clarity, honesty and compassion.
In short, a new kind of politician, pledged to ending the spiral of corruption, nepotism and greed that so marred the past eight years, a public servant unique in more ways than one, not just because he’s black, but because he’s, well, different; one could easily imagine a white man with the same vision performing as brilliantly.
And in so doing, in succeeding George W Bush, his messages of hope and change, his beliefs in the power of positivity, have ensured that he has indeed been judged not by the colour of his skin, but by the content of his character, fulfilling the dream of Dr Martin Luther King, whose 90th birthday fell this inauguration week.
Real change will of course take a while, and it is to be hoped that he will be afforded sufficient time to make good his promises, though he’s made quite a start already, cleaning up Washington with a tightening of the rules governing lobbyists and a pledge to bring in “a new era of openness”.
On foreign policy too he has got into gear, acting swiftly to halt the trials of suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in advance of its eventual closure later this year, and telephoning world leaders – most notably Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas – to discuss the Gaza conflict.
There are even reports circulating that he may speak to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in his efforts to reach out to the Arab states, unthinkable under President Bush, and he could even sanction covert talks with Hamas.
“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect; to those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy,” said Obama in his Inaugural Address, reaching out the hand of friendship after delivering a very clear warning to America’s enemies earlier in his speech.
“We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence. And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken – you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
The economic downturn also featured prominently in his address, the new President pledging to do all in his power to re-energise the country and get the world’s most powerful economy working again.
Billions more would have to be spent, he insisted, hundreds of billions of dollars essential to kick-start the US economy, his performance on which, after all, will determine more than any other factor, more than Iraq, terror or the Middle East, whether he wins re-election in three-and-three-quarter years’ time.
The oration may not have been his greatest, the promises not his grandest, but one thing’s for sure, everyone, every man, woman and child, irrespective of race, religion and place of origin, will be hoping he succeeds, for a failing US means a failing world; less wealth trickling down, fewer jobs in our own economy, and an America more insular, more Right-wing, and more and more likely to lurch further to the extremes.
Can he do it? Yes he can!
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Tags : barack obama, politics
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January 25th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime. Hope he does well.
January 30th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Obama and Israel: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_2z1wMDmJd0
To summarise Obamas speech:
a) His bond with Israel is unbreakable today, tomorrow and forever.
b) He supports Zionism and justifies the establishment of Israel (which took place on Muslim land!) - and that he will never compromise when it comes to Israels security.
c) He sympathises with the Israeli occupiers on the resistance that they face from the occupied (the Muslims)!
d) Explains that the US has geo-political interests in the middle east for the good of Israel
e) Does NOT blame Israel for the insecurity that takes place, and claims that it is the only democracy in the region.
f) Obama ensures $30bn of military expenditure for Israel!!
THINK PEOPLE THINK!
All that money you raised for Palestine, all those demos you attended, all those emails and all those slogans you shouted in support of Palestine - will be quashed by the policies made by Obama.
Israel will continue to be emboldened by the likes of Bush and Obama. They are two sides of the same US coin. The only difference is that one is white and one is black!
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
For the record, I agree with Obama on this issue: the only solution is a two-state solution; the right of Israel to exist is non-negotiable.
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Shamik,
Right to exist yes, but on somebody else’ land? at the expense of an innocent party?
The British invade, take the land from the Palestinians and give it to a third party - and you think that’s a good thing?
Explain with reasons please.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
We are where we are; how far back in history do you want to go?
Jews, Muslims and Christians have all laid claim to what is now Israel at some point in time.
A viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel really is the only way to proceed, the key to bringing lasting peace to the Middle East, to building a better future for all, regardless of religion, race or origin.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Jews in general relinquished/abandoned any such right to that land by virtue of their own scripture where they were ordered to leave by God and to disperse throughout the world. IN fact, Jews have never made a concerted attempt to re-take the land as a result of that divine injunction.
Christians, since the end of the Crusades have never been that bothered about it (I think) as their scripture does not particularly demand any control of that land, hence the reason why they never laid any sieges/invasions upon it for religious reasons.
Muslims on the other hand, have ruled that land for centuries, and even if not under the banner of being a “Muslim” or Islam, then surely the Palestinians by virtue of being indigeneous to that land have the ultimate claim to that land? i.e. ethnicity? And if you wish to extend the argument of ethnicity to the Jews and grant them ownership, then yes at least I could see your logic - but the fact is that the majority of the Jews in Israel are *not* ethnically Jew, but are actually converts who have taken that land under the pretext of having some historical right to it, even though alot of them are foreigners! (converts to “reform” Judaism).
The only ones who, objectively speaking, have *any* plausible claim to that land are the ethnic/indigenous population; Palestinian Arabs/Christians/Jews (sephardic Jews) - NOT the foreign converts (Askhenazi Jews, who are not accepted by Orthodox Sephardic Jews). They have *no* right to that land, and as such must be evicted.
There was never such a thing as a Jewish state (a strange concept for a state which claims to be secular), and the only authority that has any viable (in the non-religous sense) is one that is under the authority of Palestinians and Palestinians only. Not foreigners.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
The only reason that Israel exists today is because of the Zionists who used the “Jewish cause” fuel support for themselves, and to propel themselves in power. Historically, Jews never laid such a possessive/authoritarian claim to Jerusalem.
See: http://www.nkusa.org/
WHY ORTHODOX JEWS ARE OPPOSED TO A ZIONIST STATE: http://www.nkusa.org/AboutUs/Zionism/opposition.cfm