An Outsider's View of Barack Obama

There seems to be an Obama mania sweeping across the United States at the moment. He is being variously portrayed as the new Messiah, the new broom that is going to sweep away the sorry legacy of George Bush; and the brand ambassador of a vibrant, young America.

I am not so sure that all this euphoria is justified. In Obama's case, obvious and predictable comparisons are being made with John F. Kennedy. Was Kennedy really as great a president as he is often made out to be? Personally, I believe that his untimely assassination added to the halo of greatness that surrounds him. If he had been allowed to serve out his full two terms, he probably has had his fair shares of political blunders. Even during his brief tenure, the Bay of Pigs fiasco was not his shining moment. Some admirers would rebut this by pointing out the steely resolve he displayed during the Cuban missile crisis. Here again, I believe that main reason he stared down the Soviets was that they accepted the inevitable. For all his bluster, Khrushchev was realistic - and experienced - enough to realize that the much-touted Soviet military might was more a myth than reality. The Soviets would stand no chance if it came to a military confrontation with the United States.

There is a lot of buzz going around right now about that 3 a.m. phone call. It sounds like a corny cliché, but there may be some substance in it. Substance, in a word, is what bothers me about Obama. There is no denying that the man has style. In addition, he is awesome on the message. Listening to his speeches, one is sometimes tempted to sing hosannas, like it was a revivalist meeting, complete with gospel singers. But is the message enough? Obama is like the general who plans brilliant strategies, on paper, but fumbles when it comes to putting boots on the ground.

For non-Americans, like me, the greatest issue of concern is Obama's take on America's foreign policy. We simply do not know what it is. In his speeches, Obama talks vaguely - and with a flourish - about his willingness to talk with the bad guys, like Iran's Ahmadenijad and Venezuela's Chavez. What is not forthcoming is what he intends to say to them. They are not so sure that Obama's foreign policies will be in the world's best interests - OK, make that America's best interests; but they are intricately connected to those of the free world.

The reality is that Obama, for all his grand vision, is a political novice when it comes to world affairs. It is hard to imagine him being a match for Russia's wily Putin, for example. (Don't be fooled by the recent election of Medvedev. Putin will continue to pull the strings). Hillary Clinton, even though indirectly, has been there, done that: or, at least, she has been exposed to it. If I was a world leader not favorably inclined towards the US, I would have more respect for Clinton - even while welcoming Obama as a less worthy opponent.

Another issue of concern with foreigners would be economics. Outsourcing may have become a dirty word to many Americans, but it does provide gainful employment to millions of people in less developed countries. Personally, I have always found it a bit hypocritical that the so-called patriots talk grandly about "buying American"; and yet, while shopping at Wal-Mart or elsewhere, they have no hesitation in picking up a made-in-China product for a quarter of the price of a similar American-made one. Of course, I doubt that any US President would be powerful enough to curtail outsourcing, even if he wanted to. The big American corporations who outsource jobs and manufacturing do not do so because they feel sorry for those poor Asians and Africans. They do it because it multiplies their profits. As everyone is aware, in the US, Capitalism is king. Similar forces come into play where NAFTA is concerned.

Yes, Americans want change. The prevailing mantra is: anyone is better than George Bush. Obama is a breath of fresh air. Maybe so, but in today's complicated and unstable world, I'm not convinced that fresh air is enough.