Obama Almighty

In the film entitled “Bruce Almighty,” well-known comic Jim Carrey takes on God’s powers and responsibilities. He receives prayers by email and, terrified by the barrage of requests that clog his inbox every few seconds, answers to all in bulk, saying, “yes, I agree.” Because of this, thousands of people win the same lottery and receive…17 dollars each. Instead of making dreams come true, Bruce creates a lot of anger.

Barack Obama’s inbox is also filled to capacity. His compatriots expect him to haul the USA out of the recession. Frenchmen and Germans want him to listen to what Europe says. The Russians want him to listen to Russia; the Chinese, to appreciate the greatness of the Chinese civilization; Palestinians, to turn his back on Israel; and Israelis, to help them crush Hamas and Hezbollah. Cubans dream of the abolition of the embargo and Poles dream of the abolition of visas. Ecologists hope that Obama will engage in the fight against the global warming and Detroit automakers hope that they will still be able to produce their SUVs. Human rights activists want to see the termination of Guantanamo tortures and New Yorkers hope never to see the nightmare of September 11th again.

It comes as no surprise that The Onion, a satirical newspaper famous for its daring jokes, announced just after Obama’s election: “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job.”

Indeed, it is without doubt the worst job, not only in the USA, but also in the whole world. Luckily Obama, in contrast to Bruce Almighty, is aware that he must not answer “yes” to all the prayers. It was his favorite word during his election campaign, but the campaign ended two months ago.

As the word “no” begins to appear, more and more people will become disappointed with Obama and his popularity will inevitably fall. When that happens, he will undergo the real test. His predecessors Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan first became leaders and then icons. Obama has already become an icon. Now he has to prove that he is a leader.