Obama, Serene Leader

It was an exchange with journalists that you might call banal, especially in these uncertain and troubling times where a bad surprise only hides a more serious one, a time when everyone is on edge.

That morning, Washington woke up under several inches of snow. What would only be an inconvenience in Canada borders on being a natural disaster in the American capital.

But Barack Obama comes from Chicago, one of the great cities in the north of the United States that is hardened to winter weather. In fact, even a Canadian would find the ferocity of the blinding blizzards that hit Lakeshore Drive from the immensity of Lake Michigan hard to believe.

“Before beginning, I would like to say a few words on Washington,” said the president with a big smile, opening his press conference in the District of Columbia.

“My children’s school was canceled today because of what—some ice? As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled. In fact, my 7-year-old pointed out that you’d go outside for recess in weather like this!”

As insignificant as these comments may be for the future of the planet, Obama’s easy humor a at a time when another president might have adopted an end-of-the-world mindset speaks volumes about the man.

Assurance and Confidence

What is really astounding about Obama in his powerful position, other than his absolute assurance and total confidence in his own capabilities, is that he gives the impression of being singularly at peace with himself.

At the heart of one of the worst economic crises in American history, he continues to inspire people who are full of anxiety because he has the gift of giving off the impression that he is wise beyond his years.

We cannot count all the difficulties he has to face. However, day after day, this president wants to solve them all at the same time. And he does it with a disconcerting calm that one might misjudge as naiveté if one did not feel the implacable force of the man behind each of his actions, each of his words, each of his decisions.

He evidently is profiting from the honeymoon traditionally granted by the media and the public to every newly-elected president. However, for a reason that only the solidity of his character could explain, we also have the conviction that in his case, it is more than just a honeymoon; it goes much deeper, it is much more real.

Not that he hasn’t already had setbacks in the course of his first two weeks at the helm of the free world.

First, he has an unfortunate habit of nominating people who don’t pay their taxes to major positions. Tim Geithner, his treasury secretary, owed 34,000 dollars when he was nominated to the post that would make him responsible for, among other things, national revenue. Last week, it the ex-senator Tom Daschle’s turn, who, after being nominated as the secretary of the Health and Human Services department, had to apologize to Congress for the fact that he neglected to pay 120,000 dollars in taxes.

Geithner survived, but Daschle announced yesterday that he was withdrawing his candidacy, for other reasons that might risk creating a scandal. So far, the president does not seem to be disturbed by his change in game plan.

Bipartisan Regime

Obama has also experienced what the media wanted to portray as a major blow when his economic stimulus bill went before the House of Representatives. In an unprecedented move, the new president met with the elected representatives of the Republican party about the merits of his project. The result: they all voted against it.

The media was quick to conclude the dream from Obama’s campaign of a bipartisan reign was nothing more than an illusion. The president reacted by inviting his Republican adversaries to join him and other Democrats for a Super Bowl party at the White House.

At the beginning of the week, it was believed that some, if not many, Republican senators would be ready to vote for Obama’s project if the president agreed to certain amendments.

Last week, Obama again demonstrated his openness and ease in the Washington by agreeing to give a speech at the Alfalfa Club, a club founded in 1913 by Southern Senators to commemorate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate forces during the Civil War. The club would not accept black members before 1970 or women before 1994.

The president, who owes his election to the defeat of Lee, the South, and slavery, intentionally opened his speech with comedy by saying, “If [Lee] were with us tonight, the general would be 202 years old. And very confused.”

They say that the good times can’t last. By juggling dozens of porcelain plates at once, Obama will end up dropping one. And the rest will follow.

Of course, Obama is not untouchable. But the important thing is that he knows it. He doesn’t believe himself to be invulnerable, just capable of overcoming blows and always seeing the good side of things. He seems as ready for disappointment as he would be for victory. And if his star is tarnished, the character of this man will allow hope to survive. In reality, that is all that counts.