Barack Obama

Barack Obama
Much is being written about Barrack Obama today, the new President-elect of one of the world's biggest democracies and one of the the largest and most powerful nations in world, the USA. The Americans today are literally chanting the Obama mantra with a fervent hope to banish the evil spell of recession.
Gripped by an unprecedented economic downturn, one of the worst in the last several decades, the USA stands in the quagmire of a national crisis that threatens to get worse. The numbers of Americans impacted by the subprime mortgage crisis are appalling and growing by the day. This is unbelieveable but true, that in the wake of this crisis today, a large section of people of one of the wealthiest nations of the world are literally homeless and on the streets. One wonders what went wrong? What are the factors responsible for triggering this financial crisis that is now assuming worldwide proportions? Is it thanks to the imperialistic foreign policies of the previous regime? The economic benefits of outsourcing and the globalization impact? Or can we attribute this pandemonium to the sub-prime crisis that has taken a heavy toll, despite the heavily regulated US mortgage industry? Is it all of these factors? And how can economic order be restored? Who can and will do the needful?
Admidst this economic chaos, Obama's victory in the presidential elections and his imperative campaign slogan" Yes we can" obviously marks a turning point in the history of USA. As the first American-African president, with exemplary leadership qualities he represents the "change" that the Americans need. He certainly comes in as a breadth of fresh air, with a goal to reconnect the Americans and and reassert their belief in the great American dream.
No wonder that when the dark clouds are looming so large, and when the general economic climate is so pessemistic, Obama has apeared literally like a shining hero to protect the people from the economic wreckage done by the Bush administration. Metaphorically one can call him a tall, dark and handsome knight in shining armour, and imagine him sitting proudly on a beautiful horse, so confident of being able to rescue America from her woes.
Can I actually see a halo behind his head? I think the Americans can!
As the media highlights his wholesome persona, here is a complete family man with a clean reputation and no scandalous chinks in his armour, or so it seems.
He truly represents the masses, and is symbolic of the common man in America. Maybe that is the real reason that they can relate to him so easily and pin their soaring hopes on a"saviour" image that he has managed to create through his brilliant campaigning strategies or his strategic use of personal electronic and internet media, apart from the conventional forums, that he uses to reach out to the people.
With his mixed ancestry, he is also like a living confluence of race and religion. For the rest of the world mired in petty racial and religious conflicts, unlike his predecessor, he is one who has the power to transcend these divides, call for more unity, inspire hopes of not just the Americans but also all other people around the world, and become an icon of peace and prosperity.
So what are the odds against this man? An overwhelming challenge to restore economic stability and public expectations so high that he might want to fervently pray for a magic wand or a fairy godmother that could grant his 3 wishes for the future of America. And of course a whole brigade of conventional or so-called verterans of the republican party that are watching his every little step and move, like a pack of predatory wolves waiting to pounce on their prey at the first hint of a sound or slip.