I was so consumed by the Mumbai attacks that I had lost touch with American Politics. That kept nagging me because here is the most historic occasion in my life time and I am not immersing myself in it. It kept building on itself and I kept postponing the work of updating myself on the preparations going on for the inaugural ceremony. Eventually the day came and I had no choice but to watch it on my TV at home. I say no choice because there were a bunch of events happening to coincide with the ceremony. Santa Clara University had set up a common TV viewing area in the Oradre Commons Library. Off course the ultimate participation would have been to go to Washington DC but practical considerations ruled that out.
The fact that the inauguration was at 12.00 Noon EST helped. It was going to be at 9.00 AM PST in San Jose. I started watching at 8.30 on KQED. I felt that instead of trying to have the perfect historical experience I should just experience it the way it turns out without regretting the lack of the ultimate satisfaction or bragging rights to say "I was there and it happened right in front of my eyes."
It was pretty good time when I started. Former Presidents George Bush Senior, Carter, George W, Bill Clinton and their first ladies were walking up to the podium from inside The Capitol. It was all stage managed and their arrivals were being announced. The crowd sprawled for at least half a mile from the center stage and people were waving flags and Obama memorabilia.
After George W entered with his cheerful wife Laura, Vice President Elect Joe Biden walked in beaming. He seems like a jovial guy in spite of his tough reputation. Then came Michelle Obama, her mother and her two daughters.
Finally the man of the moment Barack Obama came in view of the TV. He was not yet announced since he was still in the hall way and not out in the public. I felt that he was very sombre. It appeared that he was humbled by a couple of things. That he had achieved such a great distinction as being elected to be the most powerful person in the world, that he was elected not by people of color alone but by a majority of white voters and that he was getting into office at a time when America faced one of its toughest challenges. There was the bleak economic situation to contend with. There was the Iraq war which had not gone well for US and there was the contentious issue of whether or not to pull out of Iraq. Then there was the Afghan war which has started to go against the US. Finally the threat of international terrorism hangs quite low on the President of the US. While some commentators had predicted that he does not have the charisma of a FDR or JFK and felt Obama's sombre performance at the inaugural justified their views, I actually felt confident hearing Obama address the issues the way he did. I wanted to parse his speech and analyze it but I realized if I waited for that I will for ever postpone recording my thoughts.
Coming back to the lack of a JFK/FDR appeal I actually felt nothing but a sense of "off course he will get off to a good start and he will not fail". I did wonder if this confidence was just my lack of critical evaluation of Obama who seems to have awed me with his journey. Let us see what all happened that could have easily tripped him and ambushed his journey.
Firstly he was black, born to a foreigner, had a Muslim name, grew up in Indonesia. He overcame all these seemingly insurmountable obstacles. This should have been an indication that other obstacles would pale in front of these sensitive issues. But still in American Elections a candidate can fall from popularity right at the last moment. So to complete the list here are some hiccups which he overcame that only made me admire and be inspired by Obama more, because his stature was such that people simply ignored these possible negative issues. Issues which could have pulled down a candidate of lesser personality that Obama. I am talking of the Dr. Jeremiah Wright episode. Obama opponents tried to dub him as an America hater because his pastor Jeremiah Wright had given incendiary speech about race relations in America. Then there was the comment about how the Blue collar white American is bitter because their good life is disappearing. Michelle herself contributed to the mix by saying "I felt proud of America for the first time" when Obama was successful in gaining the Democratic nomination.
Equally importantly there was Hillary Clinton who was also a Democratic aspirant. She conducted a tough campaign in which she questioned Obama's competence, experience and readiness. Her low evaluation of Obama was used by McCain and the Republicans to smear Obama. There was Sarah Palin's remark about his lack of executive experience. Bill Clinton threw himself as one of the roadblocks to Obama when he said "Obama should realize this is not a fairy tale".
It should be mentioned that the dip in the financial and economic health of US helped Obama's candidacy since he represented a change from the last eight years. His opponent McCain represented the continuation of the same.
Now Obama overcame all those obstacles and won preliminaries after preliminaries and state after state in the final election to land a convincing victory. It is this feeling that he has endured so many tests to emerge successful that makes me feel this President is really made up of solid stuff. His oratory skills, his Harvard qualification, his appealing family image and his calm and composed demeanor only burnishes his image.
I heard an interview on NPR yesterday where an African American journalist put it very well. He was asked what he thought of Martin Luther King Jr since he was growing up at that time when Dr. King was active. He said that when he was a boy he did not like Dr. King's civil disobedience movement. He felt it was cowardly. He felt rage when he saw the black activists being beaten up and thrown in jails. But later he realized that the message from King was that "White people also feel that ill treating black people is wrong. A white man may not like his daughter to marry a black man but he certainly has the capacity to cringe when he sees black people being mistreated." This according to the journalist was a leap of faith on Dr. King's part to believe in the goodness of humans who happen to belong on the oppressor's side. He said this is what he saw in Obama. Obama was capable of seeing the good side of all Americans including the White majority. It was this reaching out on the part of Obama that gave him unbelievable victories in Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and such states.
It is apt that the inauguration happened just a day after Martin Luther King day.
I am not sure how many people feel or realize the effects of Obama's election to the Presidency of the most powerful nation. Obama has shown that there is no handicap that can stop anyone from achieving their dreams. It will inspire a Dalit in India to aspire for greater leadership roles. It will open the eyes of US haters to the good effects of freedom and democracy which US not only preaches but practices to full conviction. A person with a Muslim name can be the President of a Christian nation! That should shame many of the groups in the world who easily incite hatred by calling US the villain of the world, who believe in categorizing people as us and them to further their own narrow objectives.
With Obama's open and consultative style the community of nations will believe in American leadership. I found Obama's call to the world community to unite and fight against the global issues like poverty, under nourished children and terrorism, very hopeful.
After the inaugural speech the commentators kept judging Obama's speech as lacking in crowd enthusing catch phrases like "Do not ask what your country can do for you...". But for me the most recollectible statement was when he told the evil forces in the world that their terror tactics cannot threaten Americans. That we are strong and we will defeat you. Wow! What a thought . "Terrorists defeated". I think it is possible.
Go for it Obama. I wish you receive the goodwill and support from the citizens of the world.
