HOW HISTORIC WILL AN OBAMA PRESIDENCY BE?
By Allan Wall
January 18, 2009
NewsWithViews.com
The scheduled inauguration
of Barack Obama as president of the U.S.A. is only a few days away.
The beginning of the Obama era is seen by his supporters (including
much of the mainstream media) as a marvelous event which will usher
in a sort of golden age. Indeed, the cult-like fervor of his supporters
is itself a cause of concern.
Much of the hoopla revolves around the issue of race. We’ve already
heard again and again how historic it is for the U.S. to finally have
an African-American president.
But even that claim requires some qualification.
Certainly, Obama identifies himself as black, and received the vote
of 96% of the black electorate. Actually though, he is a bi-racial mulatto,
with a white mother and a black father. Genetically, Obama is just as
much white as he is black.
Not only that, but Barack Obama was raised by white people, after his
black father abandoned the family. This seems to have caused a sort
of identity crisis for young Barry who was constantly looking for a
father figure, and wound up finding one in anti-white preacher Jeremiah
Wright.
And notice the contrast. Obama publicly dissed his maternal grandmother,
who had done so much to care for him when he was younger, as a “typical
white person.” On the other hand, Barack’s bigamous father
who ditched him was honored in the title of his book Dreams from
my Father.
Obama’s biological father, of course, was Kenyan. That means Obama
is not descended from the historic black American community. Obama is
not descended from American slaves. Not only that, but Kenya is in East
Africa, whereas American blacks are descended from West Africans.
Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate had the first black man
elected U.S. president been a real American black, preferably one who
had already accomplished something in the business world, in sports,
entertainment or the military?
And, just as an historical note, it’s possible that we’ve
already had a president who was part black. Warren Gamaliel Harding,
president from 1921 to 1923, was believed by some to have some African
ancestry.
Anyway, that’s all water under the bridge. Obama is set to take
the oath of office.
We already know Obama wants a more active government role in the economy.
But it’s not like that’s a total turnaround, is it? Our
current president George W. Bush, has already increased the government’s
role in the economy. Government spending skyrocketed under Bush, and
his disastrous mortgage social engineering policies have helped to bring
about the present crisis. Obama supported those policies too (both parties
did), which makes his criticism of Bush on the economy rather hypocritical.
But,that’s politics.
Big Government President Obama can be expected to expand on policies already in place under Big Government President Bush. Despite all the rhetoric about “hope” and “change,” the overall difference may be more in style than substance.
However, as I have argued previously, there is a potential silver lining to an Obama administration. With George W. Bush out of the way, could Republicans actually be provoked to stand up for their supposed principles? One can hope.
|
Subscribe to the NewsWithViews Daily News Alerts! |
There are some signs of that already in the Congress. But whether it amounts to something in the long term, we’ll just have to wait and see. It may not happen. But, to utilize a phrase Obama himself is fond of, I have “the audacity of hope” to suppose that it could happen!
