Mainstream WeeklyBarack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election spells not only a major win for him, his party, his supporters but symbolises the dawn of a new era for the US Government, the Americans and the entire world. Long, endless lines of voters from early hours on November 4 by themselves signalled that a majority of the Americans viewed this election as a major battle, one and perhaps the only opportunity the majority have to mark their stand on their country’s political destiny. They did not want to waste this chance. And so the manner in which they have exercised their votes in electing a Black to enter the White House for the first time in American history as the President carries a historic message, the significance of which shall continue to be debated upon for years to come. True, had President George W. Bush not earned the ire of the people at home and abroad because of the dangerously callous manner in which he pursued US foreign policy, Obama may not have succeeded as he has. Bush’s failure as a diplomat, a politician as well as an economist, however, are just a few of the many points that demand attention because of Obama’s victory.
One is tempted to recall the novel, The Man (written by Irving Wallace), in which a Black becomes the American President not by election but by accident. The novel highlights the racial bias prevalent in the US during that period because of which President Douglass Dilman faces many frustrations, leading to his impeachment. Against this backdrop, Obama’s victory certainly suggests that the American voter has come a long way from the 1960s. He has not become the President by accident but has been voted to this office by the Americans. That he has won the polls by a sweeping majority clearly signals that the average American’s political attitude, in today’s age, is guided by a new fervour. A fervour because of which the young and the old, cutting across regional, religious and racial barriers, have chosen to have Obama as their President.
It would be going a little overboard to say that Obama’s victory suggests complete elimination of the racial bias from all sections of the American society. What stands out is that the Americans deliberately chose not to let their decision to vote be affected by the race-card, known to have been exercised by the rival camp. Surely, if the average American had allowed himself to be influenced by the racial factor, than the Whites in both the parties ’Democratic and Republican’ would have paid greater importance to ensuring Obama’s defeat. Herein the role played by communication stands out. The average American, White or Black, Christian or of any other religious community found it easier to identify himself with Obama than his rival John McCain. Cutting across racial, religious and regional barriers, the problems confronting the average American are the same, and these have been only enhanced because of the wrong policies pursued by Bush. Obama has age on his side too, prompting probably the first-time voters in the US to feel more at ease in having him in the Oval Office than settle for the oldest ever President. So what if McCain is White? Electing him carried the risk of carrying forward the burdens left by Bush. Obama—so what if he is Black?—at least spells hope of charting a new course for the country and its citizens.
There can be no two opinions about Obama’s victory having brought the world face to face for the first time with a silent revolution that has been brewing among the average American class—Blacks and Whites—for a long time. These include the ones who have strongly felt disillusioned, dissatisfied and also discriminated against because of the US policies having been pursued, at the whims of select sections, to satiate the interests of a small minority. The minority does not refer to the entire Jewish population of the country. It too has activists like Noam Chomsky, who have not refrained from hitting at the American media—controlled largely by the Jews by highlighting the role played by “manufactured news