Viewing the media of late, their oh-so-knowledgeable ‘experts’ waxing lyrical over “America’s Finest Hour”, I found it hard not to dwell awhile on what finally brought the United States to the point of electing a black man to the presidency.
Not for one single moment would I endeavor to detract from the joys and emotions of the black community, at what must be for them the virtual realization of King’s Dream. This day was too long in coming, and it’s right they should celebrate it to the full.
Consider, though, how not so long ago Iraq was topping the agenda of election issues. John McCain whole-heartedly supported Bush’s “surge” in Iraq. By so doing, he signed his own presidential death warrant. Had Iraq remained in turmoil, if US soldiers were still dying in quantity from IEDs, Obama would have been the one giving the ‘sob-sob’ speech on election night, and McCain would be celebrating. Instead, the surge provided sufficient US forces to wall-up Baghdad and its turbulent suburbs, stifle the rebellion, and take Americans’ minds off the war.
Even that may not have been sufficient to win Obama the prize, had the Bush administration’s economic policies not chosen that moment to, in the words of dear old Jeremiah Wright, “come home to roost.” The sub-prime mortgage credit crunch, alongside dire economic figures, sealed McCain’s fate as surely as another 9/11-type attack on November 3rd would have kicked Obama right out the game.
In his concession speech, John McCain yet again referred to America as “the greatest nation on earth.” It gets more than a little irksome after a while. Americans may consider themselves “the greatest on earth”, but facts reveal they are just like anyone else, and this election provided adequate proof of that.
En masse, human beings everywhere are remarkably similar to sheep. Americans are no different. Sheep are quite happy while they have good grazing and a sense of security. Let loose a wolf in the field and they’ll rush around in blind panic desperate for a leader to protect them.
It was this very fear-inspired desperation that propelled George W Bush back into power in 2004. The attacks of 9/11, followed by a carefully constructed program of political scaremongering, kept Americans in a state of panic and George Bush in the White House.
McCain’s alleged military prowess would undoubtedly have seen him replace the present incumbent if the public’s fear of al Qaeda had not given way to other fears – those of homelessness, joblessness, and rapidly rising food prices. George W Bush, and those allied with him, gradually metamorphosed from leaders into wolves. The credit crisis was their fault; the 700billion dollar ‘bale-out’ was for their benefit, and the economy continued to dive into the ground.
John McCain was seen by many, and rightly so, as one of the wolves. Another leader was required quickly. Fortunately, an election was just around the corner.
Barack Obama may well prove the savior of America. He’s a very capable man with a brilliant mind and great charisma. Had Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination there can be little doubt she would be president-elect today. It would be unfair to not recognize the part Obama personally played in winning this election, but he was undoubtedly helped by the GOP’s great ability to lose it.
The people chose Obama to solve their economic woes. Like all sheep, and all human beings, self-interest was their motivation – that, hopefully, they also chose the best man to bring the Iraq war to a close, was mere coincidence.
It’s good that America elected a black person to be president, but his color was not the reason. A white Clinton would have won by an equally large margin.
For handing him the keys to the White House, Barack Obama must thank the sheep, baa-ing loudly for help to rid them of the wolves, once thinly disguised as good shepherds, that they themselves foolishly allowed back into their field four years ago.
Yes, sheep can be exceedingly stupid creatures.
Now, we must hope Barack Obama, himself, does not eventually metamorphose into just another political predator.
Filed under: Baaaaaaa!
