Obama the Victor, Sarkozy the Defeated, and Berlusconi the Fluctuating

After his historic victory against his Republican opponents, President Obama declared that the American people are capable of bearing the weight of immense challenges. After his historic defeat by the socialists, President Sarkozy’s suffocating need for respite caused him to initiate revisions to the French government. President Berlusconi countered his opponents and their demonstrations against him with his own populist support, affirming that the Italian people have greater concerns, which made it possible for him to remain unaffected by accusations of presidential scandals.

In Washington, the victorious president understands that there are many hardships that may appear on the horizon if the Republicans win in the upcoming congressional elections in November. In any case, the modified bill that the House of Representatives passed for health care reform did take some of the Republicans’ demands into consideration, such as the elimination of coverage for abortions.

In Paris, the defeated president understands that he is due for reelection in 2012, and that the socialists are attempting to arise from the ruins of their past squabbles and to strengthen the political base of the party’s leader, Martine Aubry. In Rome, the president who is surrounded by personal and public criticism knows that he must take heed of public opinion and his own fears in order to avoid future setbacks.

The economic crisis and its fallout could be one of the common denominators shared by the recent events in America and in a handful of European nations, especially Greece. The right wing in the American Democratic Party could be even more enthusiastic than the Republicans in refusing any bills that they consider socialist, such as public health care for the millions of Americans who are deprived of any coverage at all, at a time when a large portion of Barack “The Nominee” Obama’s party is insisting that he not relinquish his campaign to loosen what he calls the excessively careless control of the few over destiny of the rest of the American people.

However, the opposite might be true in France, as opposition parties are scrutinizing the Charles de Gaulle-like conservatism being employed in regard to supporting groups hurt by the crises in the economy and standard of living, whereas the far right is demanding outright refusal even of the demands of employees in the airline industry.

And now, the pertinent question is if the internal crises in this or that powerful Western nation will bind its leader’s hands and paralyze diplomatic and non-diplomatic efforts to solve other crises that extend from the Middle East and Iran to the furthest regions of Asia, or if the strengthening of President Obama’s role in the American interior will strengthen his role abroad. This is the question that Secretary Clinton has managed to pose in some way or another, but it’s a still too early to offer preemptive answers.