Rooting for President Obama

My Republican friends call me a bleeding heart Democrat supporter. Obama has won the presidency again.  It was a very close contest, initially.  Obama won despite that the US economy is in bad shape, a situation that he stumbled upon shortly after assuming office.  He won despite perceptions that the so called 1% is supporting a change in administration. One very glaring proof of the economic mess is the 8% unemployment rate. It was said that the larger socio – economic class in the US who are not in a position to fund this election campaign will not be able to influence the outcome of the elections.  As it turns out, we are happily surprised. And, we are filled with hope again.

I compiled a few highlights of the Obama Presidency. First, was the inspiring inaugural address which I so relished for its sound bite. With the inauguration of the first black president in the White House, it seemed THE NEW WORLD was apt to refer to the United States again. Since, the first wave of immigrants from the old world, indeed, the face of the Americas has changed.  Obama said in his inaugural address:

….“they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth….” (end of quote )

The above remark was in reference to the slave trade from Europe to the Americas and a reference to the plight of his forebears: from slavery to the highest post of the world.  Even as Obama said  “that the celebrations are about us,” the celebration was also about OBAMA and all that he stands for.  

Then the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 went to Barack Obama, the 44^th President of the United States after eight months in office "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The Nobel Peace Prize may be awarded to persons or organizations that are in the process of resolving a conflict or creating peace.”  

It was a good time to pause and reflect on world politics and what was happening in the world. What were the images and pictures of the   “unpeace” in the world in 2009?  The United States Army was facing a rebellion in Iraq. We still have no idea how the U.S. will emerge victorious in Afghanistan or in counter terrorism attacks in Pakistan and Somalia.  Iran is building nuclear arms. There is no let-up in the Jewish settlement on Arab land. The Indian embassy was bombed.   There is still an unresolved dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.  Obama said he was humbled by the Nobel peace prize. One journalist called the award a pre-emptive award. What has Obama achieved to deserve the peace prize? One development expert ( Lawrence Haddad) says, “The replenishment of that crucial ingredient for peace-building: hope”

Obama has been described as akin to a philosopher king, so lofty but not grounded in realpolitik. Obama ran for elections the first time on the theme of change and now he has another four more years to continue that process of change. 

Obama said one function of the US government is to keep Americans safe. One of Obama’s famous line on security was in reference to Israel. He said  "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that, and I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."

Workers in the call center industry have also taken note that Obama is not so much into free trade, he discourages business process outsourcing (BPO) for the United States as he wants these jobs for Americans. In this current campaign, Obama says that there will be no tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

Clearly, it was not within the power of President Obama to respond to the  financial crisis the world is facing which according to world economists  is a combination of the many that we've seen in the past, all happening at the same time: e.g. Asian crisis, Russian crisis, Latin American debt crisis, US savings and loan crisis, 1987 crash, etc.,  In this sense, the expectations of the world were so much bigger than Obama. Still, we continue to hope.

In the Philippines, many have noted that the United States is keen on the outcome of the peace agreement between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.  Of course, it is in the interests of the USA, and for any foreign policy entity for that matter, to be friendly with political entities that can be strategic in geopolitics. 

All these and more are amidst  the challenges of the recent super storm SANDY, amidst global warming, climate change, natural and human made disasters.

For the Philippines & for the ASEAN, Niza Concepcion makes a profound remark & I quote, “Four more years. What does that mean for my country – an abandoned ally grappling for a chance to mean something to the USA again amidst political & economic tensions with China and a weak ASEAN?” 

Photo credit : from the FB page Barack Obama