Ian Boyne
At a time when some social scientists have been downplaying the importance of charisma in politics, Barack Obama has reminded everyone why that indefinable yet magical quality is so alluring, so irresistible to many.
To many, morning is about to dawn in America. Reagan promised it but it will be finally delivered by a brother, Barack (let me not call his middle name) Obama. I agree with the writer of the article 'The Obama phenomenon' in the March issue of The New African magazine: "Whatever anyone says about Obama, it cannot be denied that he is a walking phenomenon. For a black man to be in the lead in the race for the nomination of a presidential candidate by a party that is likely to win the presidential election in November is astonishing." And in America.
Right to vote
Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama, shakes hands during a campaign stop in Concord, New Hampshire, earlier this year. - AP
This is the country of Jim Crow laws, the country where the black man has only relatively recently had the right to vote; a country which still manifests deep racial cleavages. The audacity of hope, indeed.
The kind of support Obama has been getting from White America is itself a profound statement of hope; a refreshing and inspiring indication of the fact that social and political struggles are not futile or hopeless; that with enough time, effort, struggle, resolute leadership and the building of momentum, change can come. Perhaps not utopian change, but significant change.
In 1875 George Washington Cable, writing in the New Orleans Bulletin, opined: "Between whites and Africans there is now and has always been an antipathy of instincts. The only condition under which the two races can co-exist peacefully is that in which the superior race shall control and the inferior race shall obey ... For our part we hope never to see the white boys and girls of America forgetful of the fact that Negroes are their inferiors."
Many of these white boys and girls - as Obama is the candidate of choice for the youth - regrettably for Cable's sake, have forgotten and now see Barack Obama as their hope for a new and inclusive America; an America loved by its citizens and respected abroad; an America whose moral authority can be restored. It has been a long and tedious struggle for justice on the American soil, but many believe a change is going to come soon.
In his 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', Martin Luther King Jr responds to the charge that he is too impatient for change and that he should wait. "When you find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see the tears welling up in her little eyes that Funtown is closed to coloured children; and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky ... when you are forever fighting a degrading sense of 'nobodiness', then you will understand why it is difficult to wait" (quoted in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.)
For decades the left has fought the right's espousal of what has been termed American Exceptionalism: The view that America is special, unique, separated from other Great Powers and Empires and historically and culturally distinct from other Caucasian powers. The right has frequently invoked the phrase 'Only in America' to proudly point to how America is different from the European powers.
Black phenomenon emerged
But today it is only in America that the black phenomenon Barack Obama has emerged. The left might need to reassess its reflexive opposition to American Exceptionalism.
It must be pointed out, however, that Obama's appeal is not to race. Indeed, he has deliberately and strategically played down race, almost to the point of race denial, and has marketed his inclusiveness, universalism, humanitarianism and non-partisanship to such an extent as to appeal to all classes, races, religions and gender.
Some would say that whether he has downplayed race is not the issue. The issue is that he gets into the White House where he will be able to lift up his race and roll back the inequities which have been heaped on the backs of black people.
Yet, for others, it is not enough to have a black face. It is not enough for us as African peoples to finally have a black man in the White House. God knows there have been enough house niggers in history. What's the use of having a black man in the white House when the white establishment still controls and still pulls the strings of power in Washington?
What use will Barack Obama be as president to the oppressed black underclasses when the lobbyists and the big corporations still control policymaking on the Hill, and still dictate executive policy and action?
Others say forget about all that intricate analysis. Let's get our foot in the door. Let's have one of ours in the White House and after we land him there then we can pressure him to perform. Let's seize the historic moment.
Hillary Clinton has raised the issue of experience and by implication capacity, 'on the first day', and that is not an irrelevant issue. It is a legitimate issue.
Time magazine takes up the issue ('How Much Does Experience Matter?') in its cover story in the March 10 issue.
The article points out that a look at presidential resumes over the years shows that some of the most successful US presidents have had little political experience. But it goes on to note that "the question of experience takes on added bite this year, though, because the next president will inherit a troubled and menacing satchel of problems: From the Iraq tightrope to the stumbling economy, from the China challenge to the health-care mess, from loose nukes to oil dependence to Cuba policy - the next president will be tossed a couple dozen flaming torches at the end of the inaugural parade."
The experience issue will feature more now that John McCain has won the Republican nomination and will continue on his hawkish line, and will be able to parade his considerable political experience. The Hillary Clinton campaign, now buoyed by victories in Rhode Island, Ohio and Texas, will continue to push the distinction between speech and action, between rhetoric and right strategy and between inspiration and actual industry.
Emotional appeal
Hillary had better learn that an emotional appeal will always be stronger to the masses than an intellectual or cerebral appeal. Especially in a context which cries out for hope, inspiration and renewed spirit. After the de-spiriting and disillusioning Bush leadership over the last seven years, the American people want a change from the same-old, same-old. Indeed, the Clinton campaign on experience could well backfire, as that experience is equated with insider Washington politics and the old political alliances, which many Americans are saying have not served them well.
What a number of Americans seem to be saying is that 'experience' is precisely what they don't want: They want someone with fresh eyes and a fresh vision; someone not beholden to the Washington bureaucracy and the Washington power elite. They want someone who is free to look in new directions and to explore new vistas.
The Americans in the Democratic Party are caught on the horns of a dilemma. For they know that experience is not totally valueless as they will need someone who will know how to turn around the economy. (Polls show that voters in most states say the economy far outweighs any other single issue). They want the experience but not at the expense of the freshness and boldness of vision.
But there are other dilemmas, too, which the respected liberal publication, The Nation, captures tellingly in its article 'Morning in America' in its issue of March 17.
"How did a historic breakthrough moment for which we have all longed and worked hard suddenly risk becoming marred by having to choose between 'race cards' and 'gender cards'? By renderings of black women as having to split themselves right down the centre with Solomon's sword in order to vote for either candidate? On the other hand, we celebrate the unprecedented moment in which a black person and a female person have risen to lead in the Democratic race for president of the United States." And as The Nation notes, however, both candidates are "constantly pressed to deny their race or gender, to 'transcend' it, to prove by their very existence that misogyny and racism no longer exist".
Barack Obama has infused the American political culture with hope, expectancy and meaning, and he is reviving the Political Project among the young and the excluded strata. And many say that in itself is good. They say Barack Obama has already won: He has already secured important victories for his race and for the marginalised, and must be seen as a candidate with real hope of making it into the White House.
The Republicans seem certain to be thrown out of the White House. Happily, many Conservatives don't find John McCain conservative enough and large numbers of Americans can see beyond his national security hysteria and myopia.
McCain is unabashed in his belief in American Manifest Destiny (What Distinguished Scholar Professor Ronald Walters calls white nationalism in his book White nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and Black Community.) In an article in the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs, McCain proudly quote Harry Truman's statement that "God has created us and brought us to our present great purpose and strength for some great purpose."
Says McCain: "Much of the world has come to challenge our actions and doubt our intentions. But we are a special nation, the closest thing to a 'shining city on a hill' ever to have existed." There are many white Americans who are now prepared to believe that it is a black man - Barack Obama - who has the credibility and the inspiration to lead America to fulfil its role as the most powerful nation on earth; a power that should be used for the good of the world, not just for narrow self-interest.
Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist who may be reached at ianboyne1@yahoo.com.
