Commentary by Godfrey Smith
Threshold of possibility Watching the Europeans in their cheering, adulating thousands thronging to see Barack Obama in the flesh, it is tempting to conclude that the world is witnessing the rise of a man destined to become a global political figure. This is a trite observation. But if true it has some deeper significance for black America and the Caribbean. For many black people worldwide, Mr. Obama is a source of great pride. They expect him to accomplish much for their cause, and for their countries to get some benefit from his presidency. For example, Ronald Robinson, a junior Foreign Minister of Jamaica,
told the Jamaica Observer newspaper recently that they hoped "it will mean a better understanding of how we as a people exist and the struggles that we have to go through. We do hope that we will be at the forefront of the thinking of the United States." Even the United States' lifelong nemesis, Fidel Castro, complimented Mr. Obama as being the most progressive of US presidential candidates.
