Never in the history of the American Presidency has the inauguration of a new President evoked such a level of expectation since the days of Abraham Lincoln or John F Kennedy. The anointment of Barack Obama as the first African American President of the United States has signaled to the world that American democracy has finally matured and that it is truly the land of opportunity where dreams can come true. However, no President since Roosevelt has had to face problems of such gigantic proportions as Barack Obama now faces. Amidst a global meltdown triggered by the near-collapse of the American economy, a war machine overstretched across the world bled by two vexing theatres in Iraq and Afghanistan and an unflattering global image, Obama has very little time to put into place corrective measures. People usually give the new President the first 100 days in office to get to the grips of the job that he has inherited. In Obama’s case, he had to hit the ground running. This essay focuses on how Obama has fared till now.
Despite the stupendous challenges, Obama has performed remarkably well in such a short time. This has been made possible because of adequate homework and analysis having been carried out during the campaign trail and crystallizing a certain ‘way ahead’ during that period. Obama had promised that he would focus on Afghanistan and reduce troops in Iraq, which he considers to be an American folly inherited from George W Bush. He has made good these promises by ordering an additional 30,000 troops into Afghanistan and agreeing to a drawdown in Iraq. Some critics say that this measure is very similar to the Bush policies. The fact is that corrective measures on the war front would have to be put into place gradually. After all, no leader can precipitously pull out of a quagmire which would only lead to more disaster. In that Obama has displayed admirable sagacity. On the direction of foreign policy, the Obama administration has restored the system to its rightful owners – the State department that had been hijacked by the Defense Department under Rumsfeld and Cheney who de facto ran the American Foreign policy under Bush with disastrous results.
It is on the economy that Obama has faced numerous criticisms both from the left and right sides of the political spectrum. The $ 787 billion stimulus plan is seen by many as too much ‘bail out’ and very little ‘start up’. The criticism is unwarranted. After all, permitting the demise of General Motors, Citibank, and other American institutions on whom thousands of American jobs depend would be foolhardy and poor economics. Obama has ensured that institutions handed the bailouts tighten their belts and cut down on extravagant salaries, a measure that is being applauded by everyone. To his credit, he has endeavored to inculcate a politics of consensus to change the rules on the ‘Beltway’. He has also been unusually honest in admitting to his mistakes in choosing high officials, a quality unseen on Capitol Hill for many a decade. Most importantly, Obama inspires hope and is seen as complying with the promises that he made while on the campaign trail. By all yardsticks, given the short time elapsed, Obama is doing pretty well, and Yes! He Can and Will Deliver.