With two years left beforeelections, President Obama's decisive decision to eliminate the world's most wanted man, with a handful of specially trained operatives, may have just won him another term in office.
The GOP, now on the defensive, must recalibrate and find new and inventive ways of depreciating the incumbent's best effort to date. So, as political spin doctors are engrossed in what they do best, common folks struggle daily to navigate a choppy and uncertain future. This in no way constitutes a sweeping indictment on Barack Obama. In fact, any brazen accusation of his insensitivity to the plight of poor people, the major-ity of whom are black and Hispanic, demonstrates a warped understanding of Washington politics.
Mr Obama is first and foremost the President of all Americans and is constitutionally bound to discharge his duties thereto. That said, Washington has always been the playground for lobbyists. It is a tradition that has sullied the democratic ideals purported by every politician. Powerful interest groups have always swayed domestic and foreign policy agendas. This reality, coupled with a bicameralism of sharply contrasting philosophies, can oftentimes defang the most people-conscious leader. This may well describe the position of President Obama. Many black and Hispanic leaders are aware of the political minefield upon which the President is forced to tread. But they also understand that a valourous leader must at times challenge tradition and defend a gut principle, unswayed by possible political fallout.
Hispanic leaders, emboldened by their widening numerical gap among minorities, are flexing their political muscle, and willing to vote against Obama if a comprehensive immigration bill is not passed.
Esperanza, an umbrella organisation representing 30,000 churches, has evoked memories of the 1960s civil rights movement where millions of marching feet effected sweeping social change. Hispanic voters, though minorities with similar economic and social circumstances to blacks, do not have any racial or ethnic allegiance to the President and will carry out their threat, without guilt or qualms.
Obama, understanding this reality, travelled to El Paso, Texas, in campaign mode, to placate a res-tive Hispanic community. Interestingly enough, with nearly two million Caribbean illegals, a record high number of deportees from the Caribbean and an unforgiving unemployment rate in black communities, why doesn't Obama address the concerns of the black community?
Pastor Gilford Monrose, a noted activist who has met with officials of Obama's administration on two occasions, is convinced that the black vote is being taken for granted. "Obama can always count on us no matter how dire our situation. We have been trying to get the President here in Brooklyn for the longest time...but he goes to El Paso," he said. On national television, Prof Marc Lamont Hill of Columbia University questioned the President's reluctance to address specific black concerns. The popular academic opined that every other interest can be addressed within the boundaries of legitimate discourse except those concerning black people.
And renowned scholar Cornell West also questioned the President's compassion for disenfranchised Americans. While Prof West clearly confused the role of social activistism with that of the presidency, his words are still provocative: "Obama has a bust of Martin King right there in the Oval Office, but the question is, is he going to be true to who Martin Luther King Jr actually is? King was concerned about the poor, about working people, about quality jobs, and quality housing." One can add "the plight of immigrants" to that list if indeed it was a social issue during the lifetime of the iconic civil rights leader.
Admittedly, President Obama has instituted new fiscal regulations as greater oversight is sought from banking institutions. However, no one can really discern the long-term effects of his copious and muddled healthcare package. It is no secret that the situation of blacks has not improved under President Obama. The unemployment rate for blacks continues to hover at 16 per cent while it stands at eight per cent for whites, 11 per cent for Hispanics, and six per cent for Asians.
In fact, Glen Ford, the executive director of the Black Agenda Report, stated: "There is no question that black America is worse off than it has been in the last 30 years." During his two years at the helm, President Obama has been anything but the social idealist of which he is accused. Time and time again, the President has tried to adopt centrist policies, caving in to the demands of the right, when politically expedient. States such as New York and California do not reflect the overall conservative values of the US. Every President recognises such, and must govern accordingly for his own political survival. But is President Obama at all willing to nudge the system, and at least gradually empower those who have and will continue to be hisgreatest supporters? For many, President Obama's ascendancy will forever instill pride. Unfortunately, many are also realising that pride in itself is not enough.
Glenville Ashby is a foreign
correspondent for the Guardian