Posted by By J E Solomon
At the start of the race for the United States presidency, Barack Obama was widely regarded as the underdog. Some even ridiculed his attempt at daring to seek the highest office with “nothing except a key-note address” as the only feature in his resume compared with the other Democratic candidates, and especially, the big names on the Republican side. Such was the thinking of ordinary men and women in and outside the United States.
Somehow, there were certain individuals who didn’t think the same way as the ordinary people did. These were the few people genuinely inspired by the vision of this young American politician who would rise to fame, and raise the hopes of millions across the country. Somewhere at the higher levels of the minds of those inspired individuals, was a glimmer of hope and expectation. To them, there was also an inkling of something remarkable that would astonish not only Americans, but people all over the world. It was a vision of political transformation ignited by a strong yearning for change in Washington.
In the Democratic primaries, Obama sailed through almost like a knife cutting through butter. He did it, nonetheless, with tact, hard work and unwavering determination, overcoming every obstacle that reared its ugly head during the campaign. In the actual presidential race against the Republican nominee, there were moments of uncertainties about his chances of winning, but in the end Barack Obama’s message of change prevailed over experience and status quo.
Today, Obama is the president-elect of the greatest nation on earth. Come January, he will be sworn in as the 44th U.S president. And some doubting Thomases still can’t believe that this son of an African immigrant, raised entirely by his white American mother and grandparents, is the centerpiece of the unfolding drama that’s about to transform American politics. At long last, an African American has risen to the highest political office in America. Some have attributed this to the will of God, The Supreme Authority.
Long before the race began, who in his or her finite mind would have thought that, a Clinton – Hillary Clinton for that matter, would lose the bid to become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, particularly to an unsung name like Obama – Barack Hussein Obama?
And in spite of the slump in the Obama-Biden poll ratings soon after the Republican National Convention, and with the momentum ignited by the Sarah Palin choice thereafter, who could have imagined that the untested, and first-time Senator from Illinois would bounce back into the lead in polls after polls as steadily as evidenced for several weeks and, finally, dim the hopes of a great American hero, John McCain?
Questions like those above will continue to excite the minds of most people. But one thing remains certain. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Under George W. Bush, the majority of Americans had endured misfortunes of some sort in many ways – job losses, home foreclosures, mounting monthly bills, sons or fathers in uniform returning home dead, traumatized, or physically maimed as a result of an unwarranted Irag war.
The truth is many Americans were desperate for change. They wanted a new direction, an end to failed policies of the past, even if it would come with a price. John McCain may not be George Bush, but the American people, by their verdict, have said it loud and clear: John McCain, same as George Bush. Who knows? Perhaps, the Heavens had decreed an Obama presidency. As such, the will of God must be done. Whether it is Fate or Providence, time alone will tell. But this is America. In God We Trust! God protect our democracy. God bless America.