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.
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.
These sentiments reflect the aspiration of most countries of the Caribbean. But is it a realistic one? The difficulty is that non-black people in the United States and the world have equally high hopes of Mr. Obama. These worldwide expectations will be difficult to satisfy. So what should we in Belize and the Caribbean expect of an Obama presidency? There can be little doubt as to the caliber of the man himself. Mr. Obama has already demonstrated
that he possesses the rare skill to be able to manipulate the threshold of possibility. It was thought that he could not win his party's nomination for presidency of the United States. He won it. It was thought that he could not outwit the legendary Clinton political, campaign machine. He tactically out-maneuvered both Clintons. It was thought that he could not raise more money than the darlings of the Democratic establishment. He did. Irritatingly for some, he appeared to have done so effortlessly, moving with feline grace, with a cool summer jazz style, without missing a beat or breaking a sweat. He had the insight to see that the timing was right and the audacity and skills to make a clever gamble. It is difficult to see how he can fail to win the presidency. As observed elsewhere, if his election were left up to the rest of the world his presidency would be a fait accompli. The match-up between himself and John
McCain is reminiscent of the Clinton-Dole match-up in 1996: a brilliant youthful democrat with natural power and charm against an aging, somewhat emaciated, antediluvian conservative. But that is a choice for the Americans.
High on Obama Barack Obama has already made history by being the first African-American to capture his party's nomination for presidency of the United States. The pride of African Americans will undoubtedly swell into euphoria with an Obama presidency. There is no value that can be placed on the positive impact that a "President Obama" could have on the self-esteem, pride, dignity and psyche of black America. That is a real benefit. He can also, as he put, provide ladders of opportunity for African Americans to climb up. But people
should not view Mr. Obama as some kind of savior. Despite his considerable talents, he cannot suddenly transform the conditions of the poor blacks in America. Euphoria should therefore be tempered with political maturity for a number of reasons. To begin with, Mr. Obama is claimed as an African-American. African-Americans should however remind themselves that, with a white mother and an African father, he is half-white as well, and has fond memories of his "typical white person" grandmother. Secondly, if one is to judge by his race-neutral campaign, Mr. Obama sees himself as a hybrid, a human bridge unifying the races of America. He has not espoused any specific agenda aimed at improving the lot of African Americans.
Shift in black politics Thirdly, he has made a clear break from the brand of politics practiced by the older generation of black leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. They practiced that brand of fiery protest politics of the 70s that confronted the "establishment", demanding to be included. Mr. Obama has introduced a paradigm shift into black politics by gliding into the big game and deftly mastering and even innovating the rules of the game. There is a
conclusion to be drawn from this. Black leaders, not only in America but in the Caribbean as well, have historically been divided on the political approach to use in advancing the interest of their people. The dominant method has been the more confrontational, anti-establishment approach rather than the integrationist approach of working the system to advantage. If Obama succeeds in becoming president he will have done so using the latter approach. In Belize, the vocal black leaders expend precious time and energy hurling oral bombardments at the "economic establishment" with not enough energy put into acquiring the tools and
mastering the methods of the establishment. By his actions -- as well as his words -- Barack Obama's message to African Americans is one of self-help. On a few occasions he has publicly chided African Americans on negative aspects of their attitudes, like black males' lack of respect for their women and their failure to take responsibility for raising their children. This earned him the disapprobation of Jesse Jackson, who accused him of talking down to black people. Mr. Obama has held his position on the issue. There is therefore more
than enough to caution African-Americans against getting too high on Obama. It is arguable that an Obama presidency could actually derogate from the "cause" of black America. To put it starkly, with a black president in the white house, many non-blacks will say that African Americans no longer have any basis for complaining about race-based discrimination since "their" president is in the white house and that all blacks have to do is to try to be like Barack.
What can the Caribbean expect? While Belize and Caribbean people are Obama-istas, as they should be, there simply is not enough yet to indicate whether an Obama presidency will make any material difference in the foreign policy of the United States towards the Caribbean. In making an early assessment, the following should be borne in mind. Mr. Obama is an American. Mr. Obama is a politician. If elected, Mr. Obama will be President of the United States of America. His agenda will therefore be to further the interests of the United States of America. So, for example, he is sponsoring the Stop Tax Haven Abuse
Act that aims to tighten regulation of offshore banking jurisdictions and which lists some 14 Caribbean jurisdictions for greater scrutiny. Caribbean countries argue that with aid to the region dwindling, their vulnerability to hurricane, drugs, transnational crime, their options for remaining economically viable are imited so they should be left alone. But this is against the interests of the United States which views Caribbean tax havens as avenues for tax evasion by its citizens as well as for money laundering and terrorism funding. Caribbean governments view the deportee phenomenon (the US policy of deporting criminals to their countries of origin after they have served about two-thirds of their sentences in the US) as severely inimical to their crime fighting efforts in the Caribbean and have lobbied the US for years to change this. The United States faces its own internal issues with overcrowded jails and criminal elements from other countries and is therefore unlikely to reverse this policy even under an Obama presidency. Over the past few years, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has opposed a number of US foreign policy initiatives, notably: the war against Iraq, the removal of President Aristide from Haiti, and the attempt to get Caribbean countries to carve out immunity for the US under the International Criminal Court treaty using the threat of sanctions. Under an Obama presidency, the hope is that the US foreign policy will exhibit greater respect for
international law thereby lessening the occasions that might bring its foreign policy into conflict with values that underpin Caricom's foreign policy. As if it were not enough for a black man to win his party's nomination for presidency of the US, Barack had to go on to capture the imagination of the world. The significance of his rising global political stature, for black people, is this: his importance to the world could overshadow his importance to the black cause. Barack has a date with destiny. The United States is the military, economic and
technological colossus of the world. But it has lost the moral authority to lead the world. It leads through force and has ratcheted up anti-US sentiments worldwide. Mr. Obama stands on the cusp of restoring that lost authority. He might therefore be very busy ensuring that his name endures the passage of time in the pantheon of truly great American presidents.
that he possesses the rare skill to be able to manipulate the threshold of possibility. It was thought that he could not win his party's nomination for presidency of the United States. He won it. It was thought that he could not outwit the legendary Clinton political, campaign machine. He tactically out-maneuvered both Clintons. It was thought that he could not raise more money than the darlings of the Democratic establishment. He did. Irritatingly for some, he appeared to have done so effortlessly, moving with feline grace, with a cool summer jazz style, without missing a beat or breaking a sweat. He had the insight to see that the timing was right and the audacity and skills to make a clever gamble. It is difficult to see how he can fail to win the presidency. As observed elsewhere, if his election were left up to the rest of the world his presidency would be a fait accompli. The match-up between himself and John
McCain is reminiscent of the Clinton-Dole match-up in 1996: a brilliant youthful democrat with natural power and charm against an aging, somewhat emaciated, antediluvian conservative. But that is a choice for the Americans.
High on Obama Barack Obama has already made history by being the first African-American to capture his party's nomination for presidency of the United States. The pride of African Americans will undoubtedly swell into euphoria with an Obama presidency. There is no value that can be placed on the positive impact that a "President Obama" could have on the self-esteem, pride, dignity and psyche of black America. That is a real benefit. He can also, as he put, provide ladders of opportunity for African Americans to climb up. But people
should not view Mr. Obama as some kind of savior. Despite his considerable talents, he cannot suddenly transform the conditions of the poor blacks in America. Euphoria should therefore be tempered with political maturity for a number of reasons. To begin with, Mr. Obama is claimed as an African-American. African-Americans should however remind themselves that, with a white mother and an African father, he is half-white as well, and has fond memories of his "typical white person" grandmother. Secondly, if one is to judge by his race-neutral campaign, Mr. Obama sees himself as a hybrid, a human bridge unifying the races of America. He has not espoused any specific agenda aimed at improving the lot of African Americans.
Shift in black politics Thirdly, he has made a clear break from the brand of politics practiced by the older generation of black leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. They practiced that brand of fiery protest politics of the 70s that confronted the "establishment", demanding to be included. Mr. Obama has introduced a paradigm shift into black politics by gliding into the big game and deftly mastering and even innovating the rules of the game. There is a
conclusion to be drawn from this. Black leaders, not only in America but in the Caribbean as well, have historically been divided on the political approach to use in advancing the interest of their people. The dominant method has been the more confrontational, anti-establishment approach rather than the integrationist approach of working the system to advantage. If Obama succeeds in becoming president he will have done so using the latter approach. In Belize, the vocal black leaders expend precious time and energy hurling oral bombardments at the "economic establishment" with not enough energy put into acquiring the tools and
mastering the methods of the establishment. By his actions -- as well as his words -- Barack Obama's message to African Americans is one of self-help. On a few occasions he has publicly chided African Americans on negative aspects of their attitudes, like black males' lack of respect for their women and their failure to take responsibility for raising their children. This earned him the disapprobation of Jesse Jackson, who accused him of talking down to black people. Mr. Obama has held his position on the issue. There is therefore more
than enough to caution African-Americans against getting too high on Obama. It is arguable that an Obama presidency could actually derogate from the "cause" of black America. To put it starkly, with a black president in the white house, many non-blacks will say that African Americans no longer have any basis for complaining about race-based discrimination since "their" president is in the white house and that all blacks have to do is to try to be like Barack.
What can the Caribbean expect? While Belize and Caribbean people are Obama-istas, as they should be, there simply is not enough yet to indicate whether an Obama presidency will make any material difference in the foreign policy of the United States towards the Caribbean. In making an early assessment, the following should be borne in mind. Mr. Obama is an American. Mr. Obama is a politician. If elected, Mr. Obama will be President of the United States of America. His agenda will therefore be to further the interests of the United States of America. So, for example, he is sponsoring the Stop Tax Haven Abuse
Act that aims to tighten regulation of offshore banking jurisdictions and which lists some 14 Caribbean jurisdictions for greater scrutiny. Caribbean countries argue that with aid to the region dwindling, their vulnerability to hurricane, drugs, transnational crime, their options for remaining economically viable are imited so they should be left alone. But this is against the interests of the United States which views Caribbean tax havens as avenues for tax evasion by its citizens as well as for money laundering and terrorism funding. Caribbean governments view the deportee phenomenon (the US policy of deporting criminals to their countries of origin after they have served about two-thirds of their sentences in the US) as severely inimical to their crime fighting efforts in the Caribbean and have lobbied the US for years to change this. The United States faces its own internal issues with overcrowded jails and criminal elements from other countries and is therefore unlikely to reverse this policy even under an Obama presidency. Over the past few years, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has opposed a number of US foreign policy initiatives, notably: the war against Iraq, the removal of President Aristide from Haiti, and the attempt to get Caribbean countries to carve out immunity for the US under the International Criminal Court treaty using the threat of sanctions. Under an Obama presidency, the hope is that the US foreign policy will exhibit greater respect for
international law thereby lessening the occasions that might bring its foreign policy into conflict with values that underpin Caricom's foreign policy. As if it were not enough for a black man to win his party's nomination for presidency of the US, Barack had to go on to capture the imagination of the world. The significance of his rising global political stature, for black people, is this: his importance to the world could overshadow his importance to the black cause. Barack has a date with destiny. The United States is the military, economic and
technological colossus of the world. But it has lost the moral authority to lead the world. It leads through force and has ratcheted up anti-US sentiments worldwide. Mr. Obama stands on the cusp of restoring that lost authority. He might therefore be very busy ensuring that his name endures the passage of time in the pantheon of truly great American presidents.
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