and that includes fathers who have endured all the ups and downs of the nine-month ordeal – knows that there is a strange sensation of relief followed almost immediately by the realization that what just ended is only the prelude to the real experience of raising a child. The victory of Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential nominating race on Wednesday has that same feel to it. The nominating process seemed to go on forever, but now that it's over, there's still a presidential campaign ahead. And, after that, four years of a presidency, be it Obama's or McCain's. There is a bit of irony that on the day that Obama could claim victory, he addressed the American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC), delivering assurances that America's support of Israel was a sacrosanct element of American foreign policy while reiterating his oft-expressed point that America's Middle East policy is in total disarray. Of course, what US candidate for president is not going to swear by the sanctity of Israel's borders and its security when addressing the most powerful Jewish lobbying group in the US, even if that lobbying group's power is likely more touted than real? As a black American, however, we hope that his experience with oppression by the majority will help guide his policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian question and bring more pressure to bear on the Israelis to meet their responsibilities. Just as importantly, though, is Obama's repeating his intended policy of meeting with everyone, friend or foe. The only change came in his statement that there would be some pre-conditions for such meetings, specifically that it would be in the interests of the US. Frankly, it is difficult to see how any international meeting would not be in the interests of the US, given that its tentacles stretch to every corner of the earth. Obama, of course, has yet to win the presidency but his simple nomination heralds a new day for American politics, a new voice for an America that has changed so significantly in its demographics and its social structure that a black man is not only running for president but has a credible chance of winning. We can only hope that this new sense of identity will extend to its policy toward this part of the world, which Obama rightly said was “dangerously flawed.” __
