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A kinder and gentler Obama presidency

Abdullah A. Dewan
NO matter what the odds some people are bom to be president.
Who could have ever envisioned --other than a fairy tale teller - that the son of a white mother and a non-immigrant African father (whom he met only once at age 10 — mostly raised by grandmother) would be elected president of the most powerful nation on earth by a stunning margin.
Notwithstanding the worst character assailing of a presidential candidate ever with all kinds of vituperative diatribes by his Republican rival's vile campaign machinery, and the race-baiting 24 hour Fox news channel propaganda and cant, the vast number of neutral white Americans have chosen 47 year old Barack Obama as their 44th president.
Throughout his 22 months long campaign for the presidency, Obama has cogently espoused for unity of both political parties to solve the people's problems. His "coming together’ message can be traced back to his past history as community organiser in south Chicago and his Illinois state sen-
ate days. He always listened to dissenting views and their perspectives without reservations, even if he failed to persuade them to resonate to his views.
While receiving the key to the White House, president elect Obama will also inherit two ongoing wars -- Iraq and Afghanistan -- America's much diminished international image, and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The economy he'll soon be steering is in an all encompassing shambles — millions of homes are foreclosed and many more millions are facing foreclosure, nearly 47 million people are without health insurance, the value of savings and retirement funds has dwindled to a desperate level, and mounting weekly job losses bring the symptoms of a deep and prolonged recession (740,000 jobs lost since last December).
Under President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney, the country has been besmirched in almost all fronts - the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the justice system, and the separation of powers have come under relentless attack. He exploited the tragedy of September
11,2001 for promoting his political and ideological agendas to the extreme rather than holding the national unity resulting from the tragedy.
George Bush pledged a presidency of "compassionate conservatism," which I have seen evolve into a reign of dispassionate egocentrism -- one that inflicted pain and misery at home and abroad, making him the bete noire of his Republican Party now.
"Mr. Bush has arrogated the power to imprison men without charges and cudgel Congress into granting an unfettered authority to spy on Americans. He has created untold numbers of 'black' programs, including secret prisons and outsourced torture. The president has issued hundreds, if npt thousands, of secret orders. We fear it will take years of forensic research to discover how many basic rights have been violated (NYT Oct23 editorial)."
Eight years of Bush's lack of leadership and arrogant exercise of power at home and abroad made Americans choose a candidate under chronicles of despair and promises of change. The most momentous "change" has just
come about -- an Obama presidency. But the "hope" for peace and prosperity must linger a while.
In his August Democratic convention speech, Obama said: "Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology." Sounds very much like George H. Bush's (GHB: President Bush's father) 1988 post-victory speech.
At his first post-election press conference, GHB said he would pursue the objective of a "kinder and gentler nation."
Later on, in his inaugural speech in January 1989, GHB succinctly elaborated his vision: "There're the homeless, lost and roaming. There're children who have nothing, no love and no normalcy. There're those who cannot free themselves of enslavement to whatever addictiondrugs, welfare, and the demoralisation that rules the slums." He said his goal was "to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world
(NYT, January 251989)."
Although Obama didn't use the "kinder and gentler’ catchphrase in his campaignhis platform, seems to have been premised on that theme on both the domestic and the international fronts.
‘ Fie caifipaignedfoY changing the tax structure to one that was equitable. When President Bush sliced Clinton's top marginal tax rate (MTR) from 39.6% to 35%, the wealthy had benefited lopsidedly. Bush's tax cutif not extendedwill automatically roll back to 39.6% in 2010. Under Obama's tax plan, only those making over $250,000 annually will see their taxes increase, but not exceeding 39.6%, while 95% people will see their taxes decrease.
During Bush’s eight years, working Americans saw their living standard decline, their children's education and future prospects suffer, and millions failed to receive adequate health care, and so on.
Obama wants to enact some form of universal health coverage, and $4000 tuition tax credit to college going students in exchange for their services. He pledged to pursue climate-friendly energy independence for America.
Obama campaigned to raise the minimum wage (currently $6.55 per hour) to $7.25 -- effective July 24, 2009. He also intends to indent minimum wage to inflation rate.
In his 30 minutes uninterrupted simultaneous infomercial (8:00pm, Oct. 29) on seven TV channels, Obama said: "We've seen over the last eight years how decisions by a president can have a profound effect on the course of
history and on American lives; much that's wrong with our country goes back even farther than that"
The question is: Will Obama be allowed to carry through his "kinder and gentler presideocyZT-
ln his pre-election pieces The Permanent (smear) Campaign (Oct 14, The American Prospect). Paul Waldman predicted: "If Obama prevails -- without a doubt - - the drones of the right-wing echo chamber will raise a new mountain of absurd charges, like termites constructing their mound from a mixture of twigs, dirt, and their own phlegm. And they will have help from Republicans in Congress, many if not most of whom can be counted on to make it their purpose in life to prevent Obama from accomplishing anything."
Garrett Epps wrote in the Prospect in 2002: "President Bill Clinton didn' t destroy his enemies; he drove them insane, and they destroyed themselves."
Obama is no less an astute politician than Clinton. Don't forget: He prevailed over both Clintons in the primary nomination process and has now won the White House after the humiliating defeat of his rival's all-out ad hominem assaults.
His calm and composed demeanour and the gift of superb intelligence caused a contagion of incontinence and internal melde in McCain's campaign that -- 1 believe -- may have ultimately paved his inevitable win of the presidency.
Dr Abdutah A Dewan ts Professor of Economics at Eastern Mcnigan Urwerst)’