He is the President of ALL the people. Whether they like it or not. Just as every President in the past 400 years of American history has been our President whether we liked it or not.
There is no evolution without revolution, and revolution means change. In this Administration there will be a leadership never witnessed on a national scale, but seen quietly in Black-American families since the slave trade.
We are about to witness, a Black man who is well educated, family oriented, pragmatic, strong and well, just plain cool like that! The coolest any President has come close to was Billy Clinton and his penchant for jazz, and the ability to jam with his sax! Also well educated,( a Rhodes Scholar, who studied at Oxford) well read, traveled as well as very intelligent and pragmatic.
What I see is that a lot of cultural values will come into play in Obama's Presidency. For one, no extra-marital affairs. His work ethic which seems to follow the status quo perception amongst African-Americans that you have to work twice as hard to be on equal footing, has now flipped into a tremendous force and advantage.
It's no secret that the GOP party demonstrated just how uneducated and ignorant they are regarding life in America. That they represent a group of selfish, angry sectarian believers who idolize money and war, not necessarily in that order. A Party sharing a mindset of a socially constructed "superiority" festooned by the ignorant rants of members of the White Citizens Council, all the way to the poorest 'white" living in Appalachia.
Now the world will see what the slavery movement produced. No Obama is not a bona fide "African-American" in terms of sharing the history of slavery in this country, but like all of us who are Black who live and love in America we deeply internalize the same hurt and pain of institutionalized racism. The response of the human psyche is the same when confronting violent oppression of the right to self determine our lives.
The whole world is watching. To say that he and his family are in a fish bowl with a super magnifying glass watching every breath he takes, and every move he makes is almost laughable, if it didn't augur a feeling of "I wonder when the other shoe is going to drop."
We have to believe that we elected the right man, because we did not have a choice .
He has proven to be a long range thinker. He is choosing his cabinet, by looking at what the consequences will be and how to minimize any major damage, which will undoubtedly come his way. Sometimes he appears to be too trusting, but if you look closer you realize he gives that impression, and yet he has an uncanny ability to consistently make the right choices given his lack of control over what another human being could suddenly do or say.
His smartest choice so far, has been David Axelrod, as his Special Advisor. The two Davids (the other is Plouffe) are a integral part of his team. At any given moment on any given day he has to make decisions, after meeting with his top economic team while juggling in his head,the campaign promises he has made. Already the Hispanic Coalition is calling on him to make good on his promises, as if immigration was the pressing issue in America at this moment. I suppose everyone gets a little selfish.
Ireland, who claims him as one of their own "due to his mother's Irish roots" wants him to help with the immigration allotments for their people. The Congo is shedding blood once again.
Iran just tested a missle, in a "let's see what this new President is about" dare. Women are waiting for appointments. I could go on but I wanted to give a brief glimpse of what he is being bombarded with. The decision he has made about the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is expected from a man who is a Professor of Constitutional Law.
What I have observed about the Constitution is that-- it withstands pummeling by despots like Bush, who evaded, ignored and challenged this very foundation of Democracy. I am thankful that there is President in America who understands just how powerful the writers were, and how profoundly its message of freedom stands.
Posted By: Marta Fernandez
Wednesday, November 12th 2008 at 8:59PM
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