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Sunday, January 25, 2009

President Barack Obama


President Barak Obama


On January 20th, 2009, white people and black people, and all shades in between celebrated the very same thing in the inauguration of President-elect Obama: they celebrated the coming of age of America. By electing someone other than a white male, the way is now clear to choose the best talent for the job, whether that person be male or female.

The day was brilliant and went without a hitch. We all held our breath that it wouldn’t be interrupted by someone trying to do something idiotic. President Obama was elected as America’s first African-American commander-in-chief. That fact brought to The Washington Mall a record number of people, especially black people, to see for themselves the modern miracle of his inauguration.

The ceremony was perfect; the weather cooperated, and no-one interfered with the historic event. Hundreds of millions of people around the world stopped what they were doing and watched. The inauguration of President Mandela in South Africa was as monumental, but I believe that event did not command as many people to listen in absolute silence to President Mandela’s every word as they did to President Obama. Had a pin dropped it would have clanged as loudly as a bell.

Some people later said that they were disappointed in the speech as it did not soar for them in its rhetoric. Perhaps they were expecting show business rather than hard reality. The fact is that the speech had within it everything that should have been there, even some things that had to be hard for President Bush to bear.

In his vow he pledged to uphold the Constitution of the United States. That Constitution states that “all men are created equal”, but then also says that a black man shall be considered three fifth’s of a white man. The Constitution is wrong, has always been wrong on that point, and no longer can be considered an authority on the subject. It raises the question “what else is wrong with the American Constitution?

As wonderful as the ceremony was, all of that happened yesterday. Today, he is now simply Mr. President, and it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get on with a very daunting task. He starts with a positive rating of about 80%, which means that he has both Democratic and Republican support. That is unprecedented.

However, within America there is a school of thought that what is happening is a travesty. They believe that only a white male has the right to lead the country. Those people are both stupid and dangerous. They are also unaware, to use President Obama’s own words, “that the ground has shifted under their feet”. America has moved on, as it must because the world has changed and the task at hand is to recreate America and the world. Nothing works any more as it’s supposed to, and no-one knows anything for sure. So those people who find themselves having a problem getting their head around a black man in the president’s office need to realise it is they who have a very big problem.




We have all seen what America is capable of doing to their presidents, and it is for that reason most people couldn’t be drafted into the Oval Office. However, the Obamas are very special people. They have to be extraordinary just to have made it to where they are. I have no doubt that the Obama administration will be dogged with hard luck and some errors, but these will come about mainly due to circumstances. What we do know is that President Obama can be counted on to make very good decisions. His judgement is clear and concise and will be the thing that will be the difference between disaster or success.
Everyone agrees that his plate is overfull with a very long list of misery. His task is impossible, but the way to take on such an overwhelming challenge is by putting one foot ahead of the other and by keeping that positive mindset that says “Yes we can!”

I am not a fan of former President Bush, although I do commend him for being so generous in the transition by going over and beyond the call of duty. The other thing that he did was to set the scene so that even small gains on President Obama’s part will stand out in exaggerated fashion. Unfortunately, some things happened on his watch that are simply not his fault, but they will taint even further his track record of not much of anything of value to be judged by history.

Now it’s up to America’s security forces to protect the president as he goes about his daily business. He and his family must be kept safe as he tries to re-build America. He is America’s Great Black Hope, and many people say he is their only hope.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael