Barak Obama

Barak Obama's ascendancy to president brought more than one tear to my eye this afternoon. The US has taken one massive step towards reclaiming its moral authority, and repairing the damage done to its image in the world. Of course being the first black president makes Obama's presidency even more poignant and I guess lots of people in the US are pinching themselves and asking if this this really happening. The yes we can, has become to yes we have. For many it must already seem absurd that the election of black person was considered impossible. With even a few hours hindsight, the river of history that was crossed today, can at last be seen for what it is: an illusion; a little ditch. Of course a black man can be president.

Seeing the abject Bush - and the noxious band he had gathered about him - slinking off to the dustbin of history seemed to me like the end of a bewitchment. Like some kind of Narnia, the US was today released from a spell; from being a place where it is always Winter and never Spring. The ice is breaking: science, education, diplomacy, morality can now all thaw. And the long work of undoing the Bush administration's calamitous reign across the globe begins - with a wake up call that Obama delivered with eloquence, realism and pride. If the world's good wishes could uplift that process, then Obama will soar.

Comments

Anonymous said…
It's just a pity that we still have to make these Black/White distinctions. On the other hand,all nine of the Little Rock students are still around and pretty young in historical terms.......