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Barack Obama & the buzz around him...
It's still early days in Barack Obama's presidency, but there is an unmistakable buzz surrounding him & his way of handling issues. He has generated a lot of interest - to say the least across the world in media and common people alike.
Very early on the morning of 20th January when Barack Obama was going to take the presidential oath & ascend to the office of the President of the United States, I received a call from one of my friends back in India. The friend is a journalist in one of India's leading TV News network. He wanted to get a first hand account & reaction from an Indian living in the US as Barack Obama was becoming the President of the US.
A few days earlier, my sister in law was asking my wife why Obama is generating so much of interest, enthusiasm in people. My sister-in-law is a high ranking public official in India & she could also feel the vibes generated by Obama back in Indian bureaucracy.
Why indeed!!!
This was a question that was debated around the water cooler in my & I am sure in many offices around the country. For me, there is only one primary reason for such a huge amount of enthusiasm & energy to flow out of this event. Barack Obama is an African American. That's right. This fact will be hard to understand for anyone who has not done a little bit of research into American history. For a country which practised racial segregation till the 1960's & did not accord voting rights to the African American community till around 50 years back, this is an amazing turn around. It tells of a victory of persistence, hope and strong leadership over almost insurmountable odds. It is a true American story.
Remember that Barack Obama's father was a first generation immigrant from Kenya & that Barack Obama had neither the background nor the resources like all the other President's to run for the office of the President. He came up ground up to being a Senator to now the President. It gives an example that anything is possible in this world if you are diligent about it & have persistence to carry through with your tasks & have clarity of thought to execute your plans.
To top that, Barack Obama is taking over the office of the president after the worst Presidential tenue in the history of the country with a failed President leaving the country in tatters with a begging bowl after two military misadventures & the biggest economic meltdown the country has seen since the great depression. On the global stage also America's image has taken a sound beating. Obama's campaign slogan & platform was "Change. We can believe in" and "Yes, We can".
These two slogans in themselves infused hope and sense of belief in the sagging morale of the American people. In these troubling times people try to find an inspirational leader to guide them and provide direction to them. Obama is not only talking about the change and his own ability to bring the change, but also inspiring others to believe in their own abilities to bring about the change.
The other striking thing that comes across of Obama is the clarity of thought and articulate speech that was decidedly missing from the previous presidency. If his speeches were not adequate to demonstrate, look at the response Obama gave to Julio Osegueda and you will understand what I am saying.
These are some of the reasons that I think Obama is so popular & I sincerely believe (and hope) he will be able to deliver on his promises.
