Good Morning, Mr President

By M H Ahssan

Barack Hussein Obama is now in charge of America’s fortunes. With Barack Obama taking oath yesterday as America’s 44th — and first African-American — president, the United States turned a page and closed a chapter. Obama’s spectacular success story is packed with poignant, and powerful, symbolism. If he accepted the Democratic nomination last August on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, his inauguration follows the American holiday in memory of King. It is the culmination of an extraordinary story and a new beginning.

Obama rode on a ticket for change. A country left bitter, fearful and divided by eight years of George W Bush’s presidency, welcomed him with relief and expectation. The world, which had viewed America with growing alarm during these years, tuned in to Obama as well. He represented hope that America would manage its own house responsibly and favour consensus and cooperation while dealing with the world. But as enormous as his moment in history are the challenges Obama will face from day one.

Undoubtedly, the gloomy economy will consume much of the new president’s energies and he has so far shown signs of clear thinking on how to get America up on its feet again. Equally tough are the assortment of challenges that will present themselves on Obama’s foreign policy plate. One war needs to be wound down responsibly while America’s attention has to shift to the real battleground in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama cannot afford to engage Pakistan only to tackle al-Qaeda and the Taliban. To continue the world’s war against terror, he will have to pursue the other extremist outfits — like Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front organisations — which export violence from that country. They have had a generally free run despite Pakistan’s claims to the contrary. For the sake of the world’s security, Obama must press Islamabad to clamp down on these groups and close down their bases, something that the Bush administration failed to do for most of its run. And then there is the Middle East mess. Trying to achieve a degree of resolution there will require fresh commitment and thinking from Washington.

It is evident that Obama will have to hit the ground running. There are soaring expectations which cannot be all fulfilled. But he has a good base of credibility to start from. Opinion polls show he enjoys close to 80 per cent approval ratings as he picks up the keys to the White House and that the American people, across political divides, are willing to give him a chance and their time. His commitment to consultative governance while being firmly in charge, and the A-list team he has picked, would hopefully serve America and the world well.

Obama’s inauguration party — which has seen millions of Americans pour onto the streets to have a blast — is a fine celebration of democratic ideals and values. Democracy’s enabling promises are why Americans — and those who share similar values elsewhere — are raising a toast as they welcome President Barack Hussein Obama.