[Het Parool, The Netherlands]

 

 

NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands

President Obama's Burden: 'Success is Conceivable'

 

"Obama is the trustee of an estate that is materially and morally insolvent. Nevertheless, all tribes in America and abroad consider him a savior. And as we know, saviors have a tendency of meeting unfortunate ends. Obama will have to immediately mobilize all the forces of society."

 

EDITORIAL

 

Translated By Meta Mertens

 

January 21, 2009

 

The Netherlands - NRC Handelsblad - Original Article (Dutch)

The hope for a new era is alive and kicking. In his first presidential address to the American people yesterday [Jan. 20], Barack Obama showed himself to be a top notch national statesman. He didn't rub salt in the old wounds, and neither did he stir up unrealistic expectations for the future. At the same time, he displayed a keen historic awareness that is essential for pushing through the fundamental political change he has held out to his own nation and the world.

 

This change is a collective appeal. In the words of Obama yesterday: America is still greater “than the sum of our individual ambitions.”

 

But it's not one sentence, but one gesture, that most poignantly summarized the first day in office of the new president. Namely, it was the hand of Michelle Robinson, placed upon her husband’s shoulder just before he took the oath. That gesture showed that the presidential couple is aware of the burden that he must bear in the years to come.

 

Obama places his hand on Abraham Lincoln's bible, which

is being held by first lady Michelle Robinson Obama, as the

president takes the oath of office, Jan. 20.

 

President Obama later translated the moment into words of eloquence and wisdom: “That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood,” he said. We cannot just blame “irresponsible” individuals. There has been a collective failure. Moreover, there are no ready-made recipes; not for the wars that have continued to rage since 9/11, nor for the economic depression that threatens to pull down the entire world.

 

“Dust ourselves off” and start again, said Obama, showing his humility in his very first sentence. This was no rhetorical trick or phrase of protocol. His humility is real.

 

Since Tuesday, Obama is the trustee of an estate that is materially and morally insolvent. Nevertheless, all tribes in America and abroad consider him a savior. And as we know, saviors have a tendency of meeting unfortunate ends.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

Obama will have to immediately mobilize all the forces of society. The adage of his distant predecessor Kennedy - "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," still holds - even more so than during the era of Kennedy (1963-1963). Kennedy's domestic policies could build on the New Deal of Roosevelt, and his foreign policy on the containment of Truman. But things have changed. All “old dogmas are worn out,” Obama said sharply but correctly. And his new ideas are still in an embryonic state.

 

John F. Kennedy delivers his inaugural address, January

20, 1961: 'Ask not what your country can do for you,

ask what you can do for your country.' WATCH

 

Yet, success is conceivable. The gravitas of the staff and government with which he has surrounded himself gives the impression that President Obama has so much self confidence that he's not afraid of intellectual and political competition. Even the Republican opposition cannot ignore his call to mobilize.

 

Addressing the Islamic world, Obama said that the people judge their leaders “for what they build, not what they destroy.” This also applies to himself.

 

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US January 23, 5:35pm]