Why Barack Obama holds out hope for all of us

WITH every victory he gains even more momentum. Let's hope he can carry this kind of momentum through the Presidential election.

By Debbie Menon (Issues)

Published: Mon 19 May 2008, 9:00 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 4:32 PM

If the country rallies behind him in the main bout the way the Democrats are today in the primary, he will be a landslide...a veritable avalanche! His platform of "change" is selling like hot cakes.

It is good to see them lining up, but we must remember that most of those jumping on his bandwagon are simply hitchhikers who see a good ride. Where were they during those rainy days, when the bus was only half full? I never liked John Kennedy when he said that all politics is a compromise, and then used that as an excuse to do, or not do, a great many things which he ought to have done, or had promised to do.

If Obama is not elected, he, his promises, ideals and hope are nothing. The reality is, to be elected he is going to stoop, or look like he is stooping, to a lot of koshers. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and hold out a prayer that "compromise" does not become, for him, the convenient option which JFK found it to be. No politician walks clean! Those who try do not become politicians, or they die in aircraft accidents!

Let's look at less horrendous possibilities in the still strong Clinton-Obama fight for nomination and the one to follow between Obama and McCain.

Clinton now knows she is behind Obama in super delegate, pledged delegate and in popular vote count. But for her none of this means anything or at least, she says so. What she hopes for is wide-majority victories in the remaining primaries: in Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Oregon, South Dakota, and Montana.

Fight on the floor of the convention to seat the delegates she won and success in her suit for the support of the delegates she won in non-primaries of Florida and Michigan. Bill and Hillary still hope for eleventh hour skeletons falling out of the Obama closet.

Assuming it is an Obama-McCain race for the Presidency, I think he can do it. McCain's favouritism and cronyism are beginning to surface, (his sweetheart deals with fellow Arizona millionaires), and these kind of things have a way of popping up during Presidential campaigns.

His portfolio is filled with such deals, his explanations that he would do the same for any constituent does sound pretty lame. Does he shower "favours" on all of his constituents? Given Obama's campaign platform of reform, these are the kind of issues upon which the election will swing. I think that, during these hard times when most Americans cannot fill the tanks of their SUVs, much less make the mortgage payment on the house, Congressional and Senatorial cronyism is not going to be a very popular issue with the electorate.

I support Obama, not only because he is certainly highly qualified for the job and is the first African American to have a serious shot at the Presidency. I support him because he is our only hope and America's only hope. One or two terms for either Hillary or McCain and America is done and buried!

I am also hoping that once he is elected the Arab/Palestinian constituency will work hard to pressure him concerning Palestine.

I am aware of the pressure from the Zionist lobby and so is Obama. He knows what it is like to be a member of an oppressed minority. He is going to have quite a plateful if he attempts to do even a bit of what he has been promising. Many Palestinians in the Diaspora have a negative view of Obama; somehow that he has forgotten the Palestinian community.

I don't agree with this assessment. He is a busy man, with many things on his plate. He cannot be expected to take on all of the injustice in the world the same day. Perhaps if they got in line behind him and waited their turn they might come to appreciate him. In any case, he is their only hope, unless they trust Hillary or McCain to do better for them.

It cannot be expected that American people will succeed in retaking control of their government in a single election cycle. They cannot hope to replace all the crooks and sluggards in one fell swoop. They are too deeply embedded in the American political system and the media. They will grab hold of every tool in their arsenal in order to secure their incumbency.

The fat cats of both major parties will eventually fall victim to their own greed and dishonesty. They have misled and outright lied to people too many times to recount. They refuse to address serious problems because some are afraid that the right solution may cause them to lose support from the lecherous PAC's. Their house is so cluttered that they can no longer function.

This must all change, Obama dares to affirm, but it will take time. This cannot be immediately achieved. The American people should condition themselves for the long haul. It will take several election cycles to cleanse the government of their contamination and empower the people once again.

The true power of the government lies with the peoples vote. They must, start with the upcoming elections; let the PACs know that they are no longer in charge. It is not a partisan issue; the power brokers in both major parties are without moral or ethical conscience. They must be identified and systematically obliterated from office.

Obama correctly argues, "the system" needs to be changed and it is high time, we started looking towards the future and unite to discuss and discover ways to make a better tomorrow happen, or there may not be any tomorrows for many of us."

The June issue of the Atlantic Monthly talks about the amazing fund-raising machine that Obama conceived and sold to his associates, who made it work to perfection, raising a quarter of a billion dollars.

His momentous success in the primaries that will earn him the nomination of the Democratic Party has bestowed on him a heavy duty to the nation as a whole, particularly its young and educated population. Does he have the shoulders to carry that burden? Even the conservative columnist, George Will, says that underneath his sleek suit, Obama is all grit and meat.

Debbie Menon is an independent writer, based in Dubai. She can be reached at debbie.menon@yahoo.com