Obama : President-Elect of the U.S. and his Campaign Promises

^{By Sai Wansai
Thursday, 06 November 2008}

Martin Luther King Jr. wouldn’t have dreamed that this could become a reality, merely after forty five years of his famous speech “ I Have A Dream”, when he spoke of his desire for a future where blacks and whites among others would coexist harmoniously as equals, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Ironically, in a way, George Bush, intentionally or unintentionally,  might have nurtured and paved the way for Obama to eventually occupy the highest office by appointing Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, both from African background,  to the second highest office of Secretary of State, during his two terms of presidency.

But this historical breakthrough is neither a surprise nor a miracle, but simply that all the jigsaw puzzle have fallen into their appropriate places, which has produced such a dramatic change.
While Obama is a superb communicator, orator, campaign organiser and brilliant candidate, luck was also on his side.

Notwithstanding the already tattered image and unbelievingly low public opinion of President Bush, due to his launching of the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are increasingly unpopular for the bulk of the Americans, a recent analytical piece in BBC adds, "Even the banking crisis, which called into question the competence of Republican economic stewardship, came helpfully at a moment when he and John McCain were neck and neck in the polls."

Nevertheless, as America's first non-white, or rather a black president,  he has broken the barrier of unspoken "white only" mantra, where election of the president is concerned. Apart from that, a long story of slavery and persecution, which has been intertwined with the making of United States might be coming to an end, where the still to achieve equality in every aspect of social lives would be given a real push.

At the moment, Obama will be basking in election victory's limelight. But eventually, the harder part will follow as soon as he takes office after Bush fade away in a few weeks time.
Obama's priority setting would centre around his election campaign pledges, which would definitely include:

• An orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and a greater focus on the war in Afghanistan
• Unconventional diplomatic activity by meeting with leaders of hostile countries without precondition
• A second economic stimulus package to back up the weak U.S. economy
• Regulate the financial industry in the wake of a credit crisis that infected Wall Street and triggered a stock meltdown
• A progressive tax cut for 95 percent of taxpayers
• Health care for the 45 million people without insurance and
• Improvement of the school system by creating an army of new teachers, with improved salaries

But Mr.Obama is inheriting a budget deficit running into hundreds of billions a year and a national debt which is about to go above the $11 trillion.
And many won't be surprised, if he would alter or redefine his campaign promises to the tune of availability and realpolitik, as has always been the case.
For now, Obama has every right to be optimistic. But whether he would be able to fulfil his campaign pledges to the full extent is an open question, which will be answered in the near future.

^{(Sai Wansai is the General Secretary of the exiled Shan Democratic Union - Editor)}

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