Obama: Next President of the U.S.?

During a televised interview earlier this year I began to question myself as to whether or not the U.S. is mature enough for a black or female president.

The very question advertised to us the skepticism of the matter as far as the U.S. is concerned: nonetheless, we answered that despite this country’s strong tradition, many changes in her citizens’ soul and opinion have been made in the last decade, demonstrating that this nation will always surprise the world with its vitality, which has made us think more positively about the matter.

As time has gone by, today we feel that the development of fact has corroborated what we had previously observed: the U.S. may appear to be ready for a mixed-race president.

Although we may not be able to determine the definitive results of the Northern presidential elections, as days go by and surveys come out, Obama’s chances solidify themselves after an extraordinary internal campaign which we can all admire.

Regardless, it is already certain that there is a mixed-race Democratic candidate running against a Republican who has significant experience being alone in the ring, has support from Bush and important political sectors, including Hillary sympathizers, but who must also carry a heavy burden: the discredit of the very same Bush.

As things stand, it is no waste of time to ask oneself what Barack Obama’s presidency might look like.

By my judgement, despite the marked rhetoric of change in the most varied of arenas we have heard from the Democratic campaign, I don’t believe that foreign policy under Obama will produce a 180 degree turn, or the luck of a revolution which some appear to foresee. It may, however, represent a powerful message to the world which might just manage to recover the standing and the image which the U.S. held for such a long time. A style more concerned with dialogue and with the problems of poorer nations is to be expected from Obama.

In respect to our own hemisphere, however, there will be no substantive change.

It is possible that the drastic redefinition of international commercial relations raised by the internal campaign do not come to fruition, and that the orientation of opening free trade maintains itself, albeit with nuances.

Although there might be some political modifications in respect to themes like climate change or world poverty, as well as more thorny problems (Iraq, Iran, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, terrorism) it would not appear that Obama will be able to make a Copernican turn, despite the desires of some of his advisors. It is very probable that a progressive withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will be initiated, though not very fast. Nothing spectacular can be expected in this area. Regardless of the sympathy or the aversion we may hold for the candidate who presents himself today as the most likely option for the next president of the USA, a qualitative as well as substantive change has taken place in the U.S., and this must be registered as positive.

It remains to be seen how the democratic electoral duo is configured, a crucial point which may determine the Democratic triumph or defeat. The democratic consolidation does not necessarily require Hillary Clinton to be the vice-presidential candidate, although her active participation is certainly needed to win in segments reluctant to Obama.

The Democrat’s opportunity to reach the presidency presents itself as ever more certain. Obama has managed to capitalize on a sentiment of distrust, expressed mainly by the young, of the traditional washington politicians. The clumsiness of the Bush government has helped him significantly. In the same vein, McCain will have some difficulty, despite having attempted to distance himself from the current president. The manifest support for the republican by a group of Hillary enthusiasts doesn’t bode to well for the tide which carries Obama.

Whatever the results of the election may be, we hope that the next North-American president will initiate greater dialogue and a hemispheric integration which will allow us to undertake actions of mutual interest in relation to the tasks of development and pending collective security issues.