Obama: Hopes, Aspirations, and Realities

Where does Barack Obama get that attractiveness from that almost makes him appear more like a saviour than a politician?

Joschka Fischer about Barack Obama: He embodies a new generation.

So now he has spoken. And around 200,000 people wanted to see and hear Barack Obama in Berlin. First and foremost, Obama embodies the opposite of George W. Bush and his Neocons and this fact alone makes him a saviour for many Europeans.

And so much for Anti-Americanism! The last time that so many people gathered in Berlin for America was on the day after September 11, 2001.

The pro-American mass demonstration last Thursday-–because that is exactly what Barack Obama’s speech was about-–proved that during the last 8 years, it hasn’t really been about rejecting America and its values, but rather it has been a “No” to the politics and character of George W. Bush.

Barack Obama has already changed the view towards America. The evening in Berlin has first of all made it clear that the longing for a responsible world leader, the belief in the rationality and the values of the world’s most powerful, the U.S.A., as well as the knowledge that only the U.S.A. can take over this leadership roll, is still unbroken.

Secondly, Barack Obama embodies a new generation. Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush, as strikingly different as they really are in person and in business, both belong to the ’68 generation and this generation have had their time and have brought it behind them.

Thirdly and most importantly, Barack Obama is a politician who has a whole lot of charisma, whose message about a better and more just world sounds believable and is therefore more attractive. Small steps just aren’t enough to impress the citizens of a democracy.

But there is also the other Barack Obama, the realist and the power politician. After all, he does want to become the 44th President of the United States of America. Everyone who listened intently to his speech in Berlin, could hear this other Barack Obama very clearly:

None of the urgent world issues can be solved by America or Europe alone. United we stand, divided we fall! That is why America will start listening again and will set on solidarity.

We decide together and then we act together. Enough of the American arrogance of power! And enough of Europeans jumping on the bandwagon when the military situation gets serious! That was Barack Obama’s message in Berlin. And this one will carry consequences that Europeans won’t always like.

The fight against terrorism is certainly not over yet. The war in Iraq was wrong, but the war against Al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan is inevitable. Europe is taking the same risk in Afghanistan as the U.S.A! One would hope to hear that from Angela Merkel.

And that means that under a President Obama, the division of work as such that the USA fights and that the Europeans establish relations, will no longer be accepted. The pressure on Europe and Germany to commit themselves more and to take more risks will increase immensely. All the same, he views Europe as drawing nearer and the Middle East as more of a common responsibility.

Africa will gain in importance under a President Obama, and that is also a good message. The tragedy in Darfur was mentioned a few times during his speech in Berlin. And even here, Europeans can prepare themselves for a new solidarity and with that, to be called upon for more burden sharing with regards to taking risks.

Barack Obama would like to take his gloves off with a new nuclear disarmament initiative and the Europeans are justifiably delighted. At the same time however, this also means that he will resolutely put a halt to every attempt to distribute nuclear technology or even nuclear weapons.

Barack Obama promises to proceed cooperatively and to negotiate. But if these attempts fail, then he will call on his allies if it comes to the hard alternatives too. Iran could be the first example of that.

There isn’t even a miracle to be expected when it comes to climate protection. This is because there will only be a “President Obama” if he wins the votes of the industry workers in key voting states such as Ohio und Pennsylvania. On top of that, a President Obama needs a majority of the Congress in order have a post-Kyoto Agreement ratified.

The same goes for questions about free world trade. Given the vast economical difficulties in the U.S.A., a President Obama would advocate policies which address the hardships and pains of the American people. These questions will decide the approaching elections.

A President Obama will restore the moral principles of America and included in that is the unconditional rule of law. Torture and Guantánamo will belong to the politics and practices of the past in the U.S.A.

The break from the Bush era is of eminent importance, even internationally, because Barack Obama will restore the American credibility and leadership roll in human rights issues.

Nevertheless, a President Obama will not escape from the pressures of the “real” politics either, in the fight against terrorism. He will have to, also due to domestic political reasons, continue to take a tough line on terrorism. The same goes for subjects such as the death penalty, weapons possession or for instance, abortion.

So in the enthusiasm of it all it may not be forgotten that Barack Obama is a candidate for the office of the President of the U.S.A. and not for the non-existent office of a President of Europe. It is the majority of Americans who have to vote for him on November 4th.