Obama will be taking oath in few hours as the 44th US president but as the first african american to do so.
I never thought I would see this happen in my lifetime. It happened alright. But how?
It was a perfect storm. Obama is an extraordinary candidate with a remarkable ability to connect with people and one who is very comfortable with his mixed race. He is very different from any of the previous african american candidates that tried without success. Unlike them, he did not feel the need to represent the grievences of african americans and therefore was not as encumbered by their weight.
His primary demcratic challenger was someone who was also trying to create histrory. She is a woman. She was certainlyweighed down by the added pressures of trying to become the first female president. She was not just any woman but a former first lady. In retrospect, I am not sure if it helped or hurt her. Probably both. The great thing is that she will given an opportunity to play a very important role as the secretary of state.
He was also greatly helped by an unpopular outgoing president. The country is facing unprecedented economic and security challenges. Its global reputation and ability to influence is also in serious jepoardy. The country is ready for change. Obama is that change.
Finally, Obama ran a campaign that is unlike any other before in the history of US presidential elections. He disrupted the old campaign models. His rivals, in both democratic primaries and US presidential elections, didn not know what hit them. They were playing the game by the old rules. Obama rewrote the rules. He used the new media and the internet/web very effectively to energise a grassroot volunteer base and launch a direct-to-citizen campaign and fund raising model that older methods simply could not match. He defined how campaign2.0 should work.
It took all this for the US to have its first black president. But this is just the beginning.
I will say this. Obama is not just the first black president. Obama has an opportunity to be a US president for the ages. He has an opportunity to be remembered in the same light as Lincoln and Roosevelt. Obama will be taking his oath using the same Bible used by Lincoln during his inauguration. I hope this is more than a symbolic gesture, an acknowledgement of the great opportunity in front of him.
He must grab the opportunity and deliver. He needs to pull the country back on the right track and make sure it remains the most powerful country in the world over the next millenium. It is not going to be easy. But from what I have seen so far he has it in him to do that. He is assembling a great team. That is the sign of a great leader. He picked someone who fought him tooth and nail (sometimes quite bitterly) to be his secretary of state. That takes being secure with yourself. Great leaders surround themselves with people better than themsleves. He seems to be engaging republicans even more than his own perty men, and that is the sign of a great leader. The country badly needs someone that can rally everyone around a collective cause, not just democrats and young people. Everyone.
Will Obama bring the same inventiveness and resourcesfulness he showed during his campaign in rebuilding America?
I look forward to seeing what he can achieve and how the history will remember him. I wish him the best of luck. I hope tomorrow ushers the dawn of a new era.