Obama: The Daunting Tasks Ahead

Adebayo Kareem

After the heady celebration of the phenomenon that is the convincing victory of Barack Obama in the recently concluded US Presidential Election, perhaps we should begin to consider the monumental tasks fate has now squarely placed on the young shoulder of the President-Elect. The irresistible force of his message of change that propelled him to the White House has now placed enormous expectations on his shoulder. Both within and outside the US, there is patent expectation that Obama will do something positive that will have a transformative effect on the world. Yet Obama is hamstrung by his inexperience at the highest level of politics and is assuming the presidency at a time of very difficult domestic and foreign policy challenges.  It is reassuring that Obama himself acknowledges the awesome tasks ahead when he said in his acceptance speech that:

‘... For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century…’

There are three broad challenges that President Obama will have to tackle head on. The first has to do with domestic issues relating to economics and social matters. The American economics have been driven in the past couple of decades on the laisses faire principle of borrowing to fund American excesses. A combination of unbridled reliance on the ability of the market to regulate itself as well as sheer incompetence on the part of the outgoing administration have brought the hen home to roost. What has happened to Wall Street in the last few months has shown that even in a market economy government must not shirk its duty of necessary regulation. President Obama must somehow find the right balance to ensure that whilst maintaining the principle of free market economy, he puts machinery in motion to constantly monitor and check the activities of Wall Street players. He will also have to fix the perennial problem of the American health insurance and create more works and more wealth to accommodate the pensions of the retiring baby-boomers.  Another significant economic issue is the reality that America may no longer enjoy being the sole economic and military global power. The transformation of China from a slumbering giant to a modernising economic and military powerhouse has meant that the global power equation is changing forever. According to the Economist magazine, by 2030 China will surpass America economically and by 2025 China’s military capability will rival that of America. . This coupled with development in Asia and the other members of the BRIC countries mean that the new president will have to re-strengthen America to position her for the herculean challenges ahead.

In the area of foreign policy, President Obama will have his tasks cut out for him. The September 2001 attack on America elicited unprecedented global goodwill for America which the out-going president has contrived to fritter away with his unduly belligerent foreign policies. It is the duty of the in-coming president to attempt to rehabilitate America’s battered image abroad. Again, Obama acknowledges this in his acceptance speech:

‘“To all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright, tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.”

Good words that will need to be backed with appropriate actions. The global issues facing America is multifarious but priorities must be on how to deal with the Palestinian issue; the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and his dealings with the so called ‘Rogue States’. President Obama will need to have direct engagement with Iran and Syria; a more constructive involvement in the Arab-Israel conflict that can be built on the present peace effort; phased withdrawal from Iraq and a robust decision on how to deal with the Taleban in Afghanistan. These are immensely difficult tasks indeed and President Obama will need humility and wisdom to begin to tackle them. Perhaps as a sign of intent, President Obama can start by dismantling the Guantanamo Bay and its torture chambers. The Guantanamo Bay has left an indelible symbolic stain on America and its demolition can only enhance the reputation of President Obama

The third challenge will be the need for President Obama to stay alive. At the risk of sounding as an alarmist, there is a distinct possibility that Barack Obama will make a veritable target for certain elements within the US who cannot countenance an Obama presidency. The American people have assassinated their presidents before and when one considers that Obama himself acknowledged having taken inspiration from Mahatma Ghandi and JF Kennedy, all efforts must be made to ensure that he did not die the way of his idols.

Although the problems facing the in-coming president are gargantuan, Barack Obama has a decent chance of having a good go at them. He is a phenomenally lucky man; a man of undoubted destiny. Take the economic problems. It is a notorious fact that economics trajectory is cyclical. The US economy has enjoyed sustained growth in the decade up to 3-4 years ago. The cycle has been turning and the bad patch has been with the US in the last 3-4 years culminating in the recent recession and contraction in the US economy. If properly managed, the cycle will commence its inevitable north-ward trajectory in a years or so and there is no reason why the Obama presidency should not be a beneficiary of this. Similarly, in foreign policy, the fact of Obama’s lack of experience will ironically be an advantage for him. He will come with a clean slate and the International Community will give him the benefit of the doubt. He has been popular globally even before he became the president {witness the over 200,000 German citizens who turned out to cheer him when he visited Germany in the summer} and there has been genuine and heartfelt excitement by his election globally. Hopefully he will not fritter away this unprecedented international goodwill.

And finally another reason to be expectant of a decent Obama presidency is that it is coming after the Bush presidency. Since 2001 President Bush has displayed an uncanny proclivity to reduce the American presidency into a joke. He lacks both the necessary intellectual gravitas and the charisma required of a man ruling any country. He has been so inept that surely anyone that comes after him can only be an improvement on him. That is, unless that someone is a character called Sarah Palin!

Adebayo Kareem

Solicitor, London

omoalufa@hotmail.co.uk

Robot  # 1 | 08.11.2008 05:32

Obama: The Daunting Tasks Ahead Adebayo Kareem After the heady celebration of the phenomenon that is the convincing victory of Barack Obama in the recently concluded US Presidential Election, perhaps we should begin to consider the monumental tasks fate has now squarely placed on the young shoulder of the President-Elect.The irresistible force of his message of change that propelled him to the White House has now placed enormous expectations on his shoulder. Both within and outside the US, there is patent expectation that Obama will do something positive that will have a transformative effect on the world.Yet Obama is hamstrung by his inexperience at the highest level of politics and is assuming the presidency at a time of very difficult domestic and foreign policy challenges. It is reassuring that Obama himself acknowledges the awesome tasks ahead when he said in his acceptance speech that: ‘... For even...Read the full article.