“I don't claim to have been a passive bystander in all this. I understood politics as a full-contact sport, and minded neither the sharp elbows nor the occasional blind side hit” – The Audacity of Hope, p. 22 AFTER nearly 50 years since Martin Luther King's famous I-have-a-dream speech, in front of thousands of supporters, the US president-elect, Barack Obama, delivered a historic, soul-penetrating and electrifying victory address that was ecstatically well-received not only in the United States but also across the world. Last Tuesday, the entire world was grasped by a historic moment in the modern history of United States – electing the first African-American president to lead the United States and the rest of the world in a uniquely terrible time. Beyond tears and fulfilled dreams, major political, economic and social problems are awaiting the president-elect who, in his victory speech, raised concerns on how difficult it is to deal with all the issues at hand. In politics, Barack Obama and his team face numerous political challenges, both domestically and abroad. Divisions at home are insurmountable. Republicans, being humiliated by Obama's landslide victory, are not accepting the idea of cooperating with the next Democratic president. Many analysts believe that Obama could resolve this by reaching out to them as he promised to do in his victory address. Internationally, the image of the United States has been badly tarnished by the so-called war on terror, secret prisons, torture and detention camps with hundreds of detainees without access to fair trials. Obama, famous for his anti-war stance, is now obliged to fulfill his promise to the American voters: Closing the Guantanamo detention camp, putting an end to the Iraq drama by pulling out American troops and going the extra mile in diplomacy, just to name a few. However, Obama knows well that undertaking all these responsibilities takes time, something that might disappoint hasty people who would like to see an end to all that as quickly as possible. Despite the fact that Obama and Joe Biden have repeatedly declared unwavering support to Israel and their commitments to defend it, there is room for optimism that Obama's tenure in office would be better in reviving real peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis. One of the unforgettable agonies regarding the outgoing administration is the over-concentration of pro-Israel neocons in a position to direct American foreign policy and the legacy they left on the status of the United States as a mediator in pursuit of a solution to one of the world's longest conflicts. Democrats are known for their seemingly deep understanding of the conflict and how to pressure Israel to abide by UN resolutions regarding the occupied territories. During Bill Clinton's era, for example, the American diplomacy was obviously active in getting both sides to sign a peace agreement. Shortly after assuming power in the White House, George Bush declared that finding a solution to the conflict in the Middle East is not a US top priority. Worse, the whole peace process was halted and Israel started to orchestrate targeted killings against defenseless Palestinians in which several Hamas leaders were assassinated. Until his death on Nov. 11 2004, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, once given Nobel Peace prize, was jointly declared irrelevant by both Israel and the Bush administration. Further, the Israeli government began constructing the separation fence that eats up much of the Palestinian land in Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It is hoped that Obama and his foreign policy team would exert further efforts in bringing peace to the Middle East, something that cannot be achieved without US's full-fledged involvement in negotiations between both sides that would ultimately lead to the creation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state. The world economy is engulfed in a deep and intriguing crisis that threatens not only the economies of the developed countries but, worse, would unavoidably hit the economies of the entire world with far-reaching consequences, particularly on impoverished countries. Huge economic challenges are awaiting the president-elect. The American economy, the world's biggest economy, is hit by an unprecedented downturn and widespread fears that recession is already in place. The number of lost jobs, layoffs and bankrupt banking institutions is far worse than imagined. The declining value of the dollar is incomparable with fears that the intense competitiveness from other countries like China and India would bring an end to the American position as an economic hyper-power. Less is anticipated, though, from Obama during his first two years in office that in Iraq, the new Democratic administration would press hard for a face-saving exit strategy that would get the American troops out of the mess there but would, in the same time, strengthen the Iraqi government through military support and economic incentives. It is also expected that Obama is going to open new channels of dialogue with Iran and Syria, both have long been on Washington's list of terrorism-sponsoring countries. In conclusion, we are all sure that Obama's policy would be different from that of George Bush. This is simply because he has kept reminding the American voters that McCain is nothing but Bush under a different name. In pursuing a different strategy, he does not only fulfill his obligations to voters who flocked to polling stations and waited for hours before casting their votes, but to the people across the world who believe that it is time for America to reconcile itself with the rest of world. __
