Wednesday, November 05, 2008

For Obama the election is over, the task has just begun

Let the euphoria die down. Now this is a fact. the USA has its first black president-elect, who will be taking on the presidency come january 20th, 2009.

Obama will be inheriting a few wars and the stupendous financial mess that is still unfolding. The world and the US public in particular have to tone down their expectations a little bit. Obama simply can not perform miracles. He will need time and his own space to tackle each of these problems one at a time, in the manner he sees fit. The world at large has been mesmerized by his personality, watching him daily on the election trail. But that is what he is good at, motivating people. Transforming it into action is a completely different ball-game. And he will need time and perseverance to prove himself good at that as well.

What Obama's election has done is that it has broken all glass ceilings and shown the world that the US electorate can rise above all prejudices to let the better candidate win. Translating that into our own situation and asking questions like 'When will India get its Obama moment?' is foolishness. The answer is when a candidate of that caliber presents himself/herself. I have faith in our democratic system that when the time comes, it will rise to the occasion and catapult the correct candidate to the post, irrespective of his religion or caste or gender.

But, for the time being, let us start treating Obama as the human he is, instead of the symbol that he has become. He will have a tough time anyway, without trying to live up to people's raised expectations of his presidency.

4 comments:

Vinod_Sharma said...

Sagarone, I totally agree with you that there is a big gap between talking and doing. But Obama is not only unfazed he is relishing the challenge that lies ahead. When told recently about how things in the US had changed since he decided to run for President and this was not a good time into the chair, he said that, on the contrary, this was a better time for someone who wants to do something and bring about change!

Let us see if he lives up to the hype.

Unknown said...

now the akbar has to pick up his navratnas wisely...

Does it matter said...

Yes, agree.
Some of his policies might not be exactly favouring India, but he does seem to have a level head.
And the USA does have an effect on us, and the rest of the world.
Here is hoping that effect will be positive, he needs all the luck to succeed..

Anonymous said...

I see that so many people are overexcited about Obama ..I am of stand that overexpectaton will do no good..Lets keep our fingers crossed..Whatever,it si something really great that he has come long way to become the President of America/the whole world :)