The end of a honeymoon is always difficult. It is a period that passes by very quickly, and is followed by invoices, child expenses, and a pile of endless expenditures. Barack Obama's honeymoon in the White House was relatively short. The president arrived on a wave of support, which was supposed to allow him to pass any legislation he deems appropriate, with the support of the House of Senate and Congress. Today, less than nine months after assuming the first chair in the United States, and following a historical campaign with which all the ethnic and political barriers were eliminated to achieve this historical election, Barack Obama, just like his predecessors, is forced to wrestle with the Congress and the influential lobbies – whether political, financial, or commercial – in order for him to implement the decisions he wants. Obama is fighting on two fronts at home, and on many fronts abroad, most of which are in our region. The pledge of change, the attractive slogan which facilitated his mission to obtain votes, is reeling under the pressures of the Republicans, with whom some conservative members from the president's party inside the Congress agree. At home, Obama is leading the battle of the health care system, with a project aimed at expanding this service to encompass the US families whose financial conditions do not allow them to provide health insurance out of their own pocket. The project also aims at imposing strict regulations on the health insurance companies that make huge profits. Obama is also leading a battle in the face of money and banking tycoons in Wall Street, whom he called on the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers to adopt another culture in dealing with this sector, and to enjoy a sense of responsibility and abstain from going back to their previous greediness and accumulating bonuses and imaginary rewards that drained the budgets of the banks and led to the bankruptcy of some of them. Victory in both battles will be difficult. The president is facing a deep-rooted culture of capitalism in the United States, which his predecessors had failed to rise above. Voices opposing both battles raise slogans that accuse Obama of being a communist, or a socialist at best. This is not to mention the accusations of "treason", based on the man's skin color and his African origin. Members within the Republican Party are collecting signatures on a petition that calls for imposing restrictions on the presidential candidates starting 2012. The petition requires that the presidential candidate should be born in the United States, and the purpose is of course to prevent Obama from running for a second term. Such a project might be ridiculous, especially since the chances of its success are poor, but the mere proposal of it gives an idea about the campaign facing the American president on many levels. Another ready accusation that is circulated by the Republicans and is welcomed - thanks to its popularity - is the refusal of the state's intervention in people's daily lives. For this reason, Obama's back-to-school address provoked panic, as he invited the parents to take responsibility with the school in raising their kids. This was considered as interference in the family matters by the "big brother". On the external level, there are complications in Afghanistan and the expected problems in Iraq, as well as the open battle with Benjamin Netanyahu, the results of which have become clearly visible now. In Afghanistan, Taliban is making progress and the number of casualties in the ranks of the US forces is on the rise. Obama's pledge to increase the numbers of his forces is likely to be frozen after prominent members in the Democratic Party said they do not welcome this step now. The White House spokesman affirmed that the decision to increase the forces has been suspended after a serious reassessment of the situation there. The suspension collides with the stand of the military command, which calls for providing all capacities to win the battle. While a debate takes place over the optimal plan for Afghanistan, and while Obama tries to put Iraq behind him as he considers that his main battle with Al-Qaeda is on Osama Bin Laden's front, General Ray Odierno, commanding general of the US forces in Iraq, calls for not forgetting this front which is still bleeding, as he said. He also affirmed that the threat remains there due to the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq once again, especially on the eve of the elections scheduled for next January. With all these complications, will there remain any chance for Obama to deal with Benjamin Netanyahu? And will he be able to do so while he leads his battles with other lobbies inside the United States?
