Obama's Next 100 Days

At the end of Obama’s first 100 days in the White House, the cheers and admiration that followed the new American president everywhere he went, with every decision he made, every speech he gave and every meeting he held during his first weeks in office have ebbed somewhat, which is not surprising. The exaggerated compliments have ended, and the honeymoon phase that each new president experiences with the media, public opinion and the world’s capitals as they watch his preliminary actions, is now over!

No one can deny that it didn’t take Obama very long to fill the void left by George W. Bush. He succeeded in stealing our admiration with his plans to heal the various wounds inflicted by the last eight years, in which America treated everybody brazenly.

On one hand, Obama supporters regard him as a magician who learned to walk and run on his first day, without ever having to crawl. He was able to do this because he immediately turned the page on the past; a past that had driven a wedge between America and other countries. He worked quickly on many different fronts at the same time, moving in the right direction with unmistakable solemnity and flexibility. He started using more moderate vocabulary and focused on his main priorities, namely: rescuing the American economy, reviving the peace process in the Middle East, shutting down the infamous Guantanamo prison camp and calling for a world without nuclear weapons.

And whether his main concern was to build bridges with the Muslim world or break the ice in his country’s relationships with Cuba, Iran, Russia and Syria, his willingness to attentively listen to everyone and his reconciliatory and apologetic tone was clear in his attempts to rectify the wrongs that marked the legacy he found waiting for him on the threshold of the White House.

On the other hand, Obama’s critics, while admiring his eloquence and ability to communicate, are blaming him in dozens of articles this week for being engrossed in issues of the past, even those from the time of his youth. Some experts from the conservative American think tank, The Heritage Foundation, said that he has publicly criticized his country more than any other American president, and noted that his sweeping popularity abroad has not translated into tangible results for the benefit of the U.S. Rather, they say, Obama has only had success in the areas where he continued the policies of his predecessor Bush, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq. Moreover, the president’s personal characteristics, according to those critics, came at the expense of America’s interests. So, in effect, he can be called the right man at the wrong time!

The Obama phenomenon has split the world into different camps. Many see him as the long-overdue solution to their problems: Arabs want him, if possible, to be an “Arab” president; Latinos, sick of being ignored, are celebrating his election; Africans and the third world cannot help dreaming about this African-rooted savior. In short, everyone wants Obama for themselves!

Indeed, we all know how long first impressions last emotionally. But the world of politics has an iron heart that drives the long train of interests, pressures, contradictions, calculations and endeavors, which change all the time. That is why many agree that the next 100 days will not be easy for Obama, particularly with the issues he has had to tackle so far.

This measure of time can give all parties the opportunity to test his real intentions after the cheers and celebrations are over. Problems will now begin to surface as Obama and the world get better acquainted, especially since Obama is an ambitious president who has taken it upon himself to achieve two difficult tasks: restructuring the American economy, demolished by the hurricane of the international financial crisis, and turning over a new leaf in American foreign policy.

Because of the way he tackled challenges in the first days of his presidency, Obama has helped limit the concept of fighting terror to its actual size after it obscured everything else in the previous administration and tinted America’s attitude towards Islam and Muslims.

More importantly, Obama abandoned the shallow views Washington used to adopt with Middle East issues that resulted in two wars and innumerable mistakes. This applies to U.S.’s insistence upon disengaging the Israeli and Palestinian states, and here we can find some encouragement (yet not enough for our complete reassurance and Israel’s worries). However, that shallow attitude is probably still involved in the negotiations over the future of the Palestinian state. It is widely feared that a relationship between Washington and Tehran will be brought about at the expense of the Palestinians, who seem fated to always pay the price.

So it is a matter of results, not intentions or declarations. In the Arab world, we hope for a solemn and impartial president of America. In regards to Obama, we are mainly concerned with the way he will deal with our problems and aspirations.

However, it is wise to adapt ourselves, keeping past experiences in mind, to the fact that surprises are possible when establishing a relationship with a country of the size, complexity, effect and hegemony of the U.S. And it would also be a good idea, before any shocks, to continually remind ourselves of one momentous thing: Obama is, after all, the president of USA (at least the Americans elected him for this purpose), entrusted with the task of working for the goals and interests of his country, even if they are contrary to the legitimate rights of others.

Expectations, then, will be our biggest problem with Obama in his next 100 days and until the end of his time in office: Can he do this? Must he do that? Has he considered this? However, our enthusiasm alone cannot necessarily convince him to bring about our wishes, except when our views and priorities are in line with his agenda. And even if that happens, we need to take into account that any American president, however popular, is not the only decision maker in the institutional United States. There are limits to what he can do in the face of interest groups, monopolies and those who have influence in America.

Now that Obama’s rehearsals are over, are you ready for the show?