Photo by Rusty Darbonne, Sept. 28 2008The inauguration of Barack Obama has come and gone, and I’m still feeling the same level of skepticism I had during all the pre-inauguration hype.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that it seems good change has finally come, and I understand now why it was necessary for George Bush to flounder as he so often did, as I’m not convinced Americans would have been ready for an African-American (or other visible minority) President otherwise.
I just can’t help but feel that Barack Obama is being set up for failure.
This is certainly a less than ideal time to inherit the legacy of the previous administration – with two unpopular wars on the go and a worldwide economic recession that will likely get worse before it gets better. Obama seems to have taken on mythic proportions, which is certainly understandable considering his charisma and magnetism, his innate ability to inspire.
Yet he is still just a man, only now with huge responsibilities that most of us can’t even begin to comprehend. He has become a role model for visible minorities, and while there is nothing amiss about that, I can’t help but wonder what will happen if (and this is a very likely if) the time comes that Obama makes the decision to take military action in the home country of the same people who so idolize him now. It is ironic to me that the parts of the world where he is seen as being the Second Coming are the same places most likely to come under military operation by the U.S. - at the hands of the man who is a deity now.
What then? I fear a severe backlash against Obama, and I have to admit that I find it grossly unfair to the new President. The reality is that no U.S. Administration in the past 100 years has withheld from using military forces to some capacity, and given the current polarization of the world it is unlikely that Barack Obama will be the one to break that record.
Your skepticism is shared by Naomi Klein, amongst others. Naomi shared her thoughts even before Obama was elected: http://tinyurl.com/5lrwdc.
ReplyDeleteMany of us are still living on hope ... hope he can figure out all the messes ... hope he doesn't get killed ... hope everything will get better.
Wonder what he'll accomplish by April 29th - his first 100 days. We can see what he's done so far at sites like these: http://tinyurl.com/988xs3.
I hope he doesn't have to start a begin a new military action, and that he can finish those the previous administration started.
Thanks for the Naomi Klein link, I have downloaded it to watch tonight while I wait. I have a copy of No Logo and tried to get into Shock Doctrine but it was a bit out there, so it will be interesting to see what she has said in regards to Obama.
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