Think what you want to but the Yanks do this ceremonial stuff even better than the Brits in my view.
In the dark old days we had that unsavoury alliance of Bush Blair - BB. Now we have the African American and the Scot or could I call them Black and Mac without offending the sensibilities of the Politically Correct analists? Bollocks to them!
And while it is most certainly naive to imagine one leader can turn the world around from its current state of despair in many quarters - war, famine, disease, financial instability, rampant bigotry, racism, ethnic cleansing, (alleged) global warming etc. Barack Obama gives one the impression that he can make that happen. His eloquence and stature, his evangelical conviction and delivery evokes within the listener (American and foreigner alike) the belief that we have truly turned a corner and the world (never mind the US) is on the path to healing.
The cynics (myself among them) would simply say - "anything after Dubya is a step in the right direction..." but Obama is inheriting a minefield from GWB as has been described above with the confidence of US citizens at an all time low. He can work that in his favour of course with his fresh approach (and ability to speak English) but it will only work for so long until he starts to deliver on his promises (or not).
The key to this potential success, in my view, is his consummate ability of including the American people in the effort by acknowledging their true potential every time he speaks and without making it sound like ersatz hyperbole (like most politicians are prone to do).
Maybe I'm just getting more sensitive as I mature (perish the thought!) but every time this dude hits the podium I feel tears welling up in my eyes because I get this feeling that Obama has entered the world stage at a point where the very consciousness of humanity has undergone a significant shift and whether we would like to acknowledge it or not, I believe the GW Bushes of this world actually helped to get us to this point even if it was by trudging down a long, hard, nasty road.
It's that old dark and light thing isn't it - how can we achieve balance if we don't have appropriate / equal proportions of both?
It isn't always the lessons imparted by the shining "leading by example" people of this world - the people of this planet have always (and I mean always) got the choice to learn from any example shown them from a drunken father to a saintly mother - whatever. It's as beneficial to see what we shouldn't be doing as it is to be going down a path behind a saint.
We need to make mistakes (hopefully not fatal ones) to learn and Obama has that concept firmly in hand.
As naive as I may be, this man inspires confidence and that mere fact alone is contagious and brings people together and with confidence comes belief and with belief comes positive action and a lot less guilt and the nett result has the potential to make us more temperate, tolerant and humane.
I like him - VIVA OBAMA
Is it true that his first policy decision will be to petition congress to have the White House painted black?
I can hear the Rolling Stones in the background as we speak!
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