Obama and the Harsh Reality

Published in www.abc.es
(Spain) on 07 January 2009
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Scott M. Vrooman. Edited by .

Edited by Louis Standish

Before arriving in Washington this past Sunday, President-elect Barack Obama, who has been very careful to observe all proper protocol with respect to his predecessor, had to confront a crisis of his own making. Obama is right when he refuses to comment on the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The United States has only one president at a time and only he determines North American foreign policy. Something different, though, are the decisions that Obama has made since November 4th, decisions that are fully and only his responsibility. Among these it’s worth noting the naming of those who will form part of his administration. There’s already one among those named who has withdrawn: the governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, who will no longer become the Commerce Secretary. Obama had offered him the post, an extremely relevant one given the crisis in which we are immersed, but Richardson, after having accepted the post, had to renounce it. He was pushed toward this decision by the investigation of a serious case in which he had given favors to a substantial contributor to his own electoral campaign for president. The rapidity with which the Obama team closed the investigation eloquently showed how difficult it would have been to defend the no-longer-appointed-Commerce Secretary. Obama has created a team in which he attempts to unite rival and current Democratic leaders: Biden, Clinton, Richardson. What is also missing are those personalities who can personify his electoral motto: “Change we can believe in.”


Antes de llegar el pasado domingo a Washington, el presidente electo Barack Obama, que ha guardado exquisitamente las formas hacia su predecesor, ya tenía que enfrentar una crisis fruto de su propia gestión. Obama tiene toda la razón cuando se niega a opinar sobre cuestiones como la ofensiva israelí en Gaza. Estados Unidos no tiene más que un presidente y sólo él fija la política exterior norteamericana. Cosa distinta son las decisiones tomadas desde el 4 de noviembre por Obama y que sólo a él competen. Entre éstas cabe destacar los nombramientos de quienes han de formar parte de su Administración. De entre ellos ya hay una baja: el gobernador de Nuevo México, Bill Richardson, ya no será secretario de Comercio. Obama le había ofrecido ese puesto, extremadamente relevante en los tiempos de crisis en que estamos inmersos, pero Richardson, tras aceptarlo, ha tenido que renunciar, acuciado por la investigación de un grave caso de trato de favor a un sustancial contribuyente de las campañas electorales del propio Richardson. La rapidez con que el equipo de Obama ha cerrado el caso es muestra elocuente de la difícil defensa que tenía el non nato secretario de Comercio. Obama ha hecho un equipo en el que intenta aunar corrientes y líderes rivales demócratas: Biden, Clinton, Richardson... También hacen falta personalidades que puedan encarnar el lema electoral «Change we can belive in», un cambio en el que podemos creer.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Indonesia: Trump’s Chaos Strategy Is Hurting His Allies, Not Just His Rivals

Indonesia: Trump Needs a Copy Editor

Germany: Bad Prospects

Ireland: The Irish Times View on Trump and Ukraine: a Step in the Right Direction

Germany: Trump Is Capable of Learning

Topics

Japan: The Role of a Diplomatic Attitude To Maintain the International Order

Russia: The 3rd-Party Idea as a Growing Trend*

Germany: Trump’s Tariffs: China Acts, Europe Reacts

Germany: Trump Is Capable of Learning

Germany: Nerve-Wracking Back and Forth

Indonesia: Trump Needs a Copy Editor

Indonesia: Trump’s Chaos Strategy Is Hurting His Allies, Not Just His Rivals

Sri Lanka: Epstein Files, Mossad and Kompromat Diplomacy

Related Articles

Spain: Spain’s Defense against Trump’s Tariffs

Spain: Shooting Yourself in the Foot

Spain: King Trump: ‘America Is Back’

Spain: Trump Changes Sides

Spain: Narcissists Trump and Musk: 2 Sides of the Same Coin?

Previous article
Next article