President Elect: Barack Obama

Newly elected US President, Barack Obama, seen in one of the previous covers of Time Magazine / Cover by Time Magazine

After the Americans casted their vote on a historic November 4^th, I could not believe what America has come into – indeed, the election was one of the most hotly contested but the election of an African-American into the US presidency, a son of a Kenyan, belonging to a third world country, raised by his grandmother, a son of mixed cultures – is something that can be found only in great “feel-good” stories and something, I am still at a loss for words.

Barack Obama’s victory, is not only a victory of an African-American. It is the victory of an individual who inherited the legacy of a multi-cultural upbringing, an individual who dared to dream, an individual who believed and embraced change and an individual who made us realize that anything is possible. His story is an inspirational one and could be for the history books with his historic win over John McCain of the Republican Party.

As I monitored the events surrounding November 4^th, I could not help but wonder if the many will vote for that man, if many will believe in his platform, if many will respond to his call for change. But as the events unfurled at my eyes, the moment he was pronounced as the winner, that particular moment has a jubilating jolt sent through my spine – electrifying could be the word, just like the rest of the Americans who attended in Grant Park, Chicago as well as the rest of the world have felt that day.

It is true that there is something with Obama that makes him click with the people. He has the visionary stance of a leader – with the infectious passion to lead and the belief to make progress possible. This is something that most leaders of today have been missing. Honestly, myself have only seen this kind of leader only this time, after Martin Luther King Jr., and guess what – the liberal hero of the Philippines, the greatest president they never had (because he was assassinated, just like King), Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. Then finally, Barack Obama came along and become the president of the United States of America, I can now see that everybody can now breathe the air of fresh hope.

To many, Obama is the savior of their country – a savior that can help the already receding economy, the savior that can end the two wars at Iraq and Afghanistan, the savior that can provide healthcare to millions of Americans, the savior that can add tax-cuts for low-wage earners and average earners, the savior that can correct the mistakes of the previous administration.

After the electrifying November 4^th, the dust has settled. The stock markets resume their old gloom days of red numbers. The worries of the nations, who have been suffering from hunger and disasters, Americans who are losing their homes from foreclosures and auctions, the ailing global economy, the unemployed Americans – all of these are now part of Barack Obama’s reality as the president.

Let us take note of the enormity of the tasks and responsibilities of Obama as the president. Of course, he is an inspirational and charismatic leader but he is still human like us. I know the weight of expectations on his shoulders, the pressure from numerous groups of people, clamoring for his help etc. Let us not forget he is still human – vulnerable, can make mistakes and errors etc. What he needs now is the help of every American citizen out there – the unity of the Americans to help themselves get over the economic crisis and how can they repair the damages done by the past administration.

Do not hold your hopes too high. But it’s also not ok to lose hope. What I meant is to hope in a balanced and realistic manner. After all, if you hope, then you expect. So it is fair enough to say that all we have to do is keep a balanced set of hope and expectation, and then begin to work things out and contribute in making the necessary changes. Not everything can be done in the first term. Four years is not enough to make the necessary changes. What can Obama can do is lay the cornerstone of change so that the next administration will pick it up from there – and make more changes possible.

In his first term as the president of the United States of America, all of the Americans should help one another, help and support their president to reach the tall orders laid before him as well as the other herculean tasks that he has to accomplish. All he asks is your support of the American people – which is the source of power to change and make anything possible.