Waiting for Obama

Many liberals of the world and every Spaniard optimistically await the inauguration of Barack Obama to witness, even from a distance, a historical transformation in the imperialist politics of the United States. They reason that that an African-American president who said such nice things during his electoral campaign will necessarily have to break away from the doings of his predecessors. However, all signs indicate that they will soon feel just as disheartened as the so-called “artistas de la ceja” (pro-Zapatero group of artists) feel angry for being ignored by Zapatero when they ask him to withdraw the Spanish ambassador from Israel to protest the invasion of Gaza, and that also the promised change is limited to image more than substance with respect to what is resolved in the White House.

The only actions undertaken by the next president of the U.S. before taking possession have sounded the alarms among the wisest of the European left. Obama did not even mutter a word following the Israeli invasion of Gaza and his argument that there is only one U.S. president at a time loses weight when he later presents, as he has done, his own economic plan that, on top of that, is based on a massive tax reduction for the average American, a taboo for any “liberal” that prides themselves on being one. Neither does it help that there have emerged shadows of corruption around a man that seemed to be so honest: his Democratic colleague in Chicago, and the governor of Illinois, auctioning off Obama’s Senate seat, as well as the undisclosed prosecution of one of his top aides for corruption have left Obama tainted before even arriving at the White House.