It appears that my concerns about this President of hope and change are coming true, one by one. Unfortunately. His choice for chief of staff does not sound like a good start. Appointing a radical partisan has angered Republicans. I don't think that such a choice would help much with bipartisan spirit and stuff. And bringing back other top brass from Clinton administration, doesn't sound much like change. But that's when we focus just on how this presidency would work inside the US.
This President of hope and change has inherited a lot of problems outside the US from previous administrations (including the current one). And again, when you appoint somebody as your chief of staff whose father has been a member of a terrorist organization with a gruesome record and who names his son after a fallen hero from another notorious terrorist organization, that would hardly send a good message to the people in the Middle East.
It's understandable (though not acceptable) when you distance yourself from Muslims just to save some votes in the election. But alienating yourself further from the Muslim world after you get elected wouldn't help much with rebuilding American image abroad (which has already been tarnished by wrongdoings in the past). The President of the United States, more than anything, should be a representative of power, resolve and principles.
I'm still unhappy about how Obama handled his Muslim faith allegations, or his relationship with his pastor (among other things). And that led me write my angry rant, Obama in God we Trust. By that, I had no intention to defend him; rather, I was angry with the racism and bigotry that led to such rumors. And Obama didn't stand in the face of the problem; he simply caved in. And he continues to do so. I think this open letter which was written before his election, speaks clearly about hope, change and reality.
On a general note, one of my friends had written a political sociology analysis long before the election, predicting with certainty that Obama would win the election. While I don't agree with his main argument of conspiracy theory, I find many interesting observation in his post: The Barack Conspiracy, How to Salvage a Collapsing System.
This President of hope and change has inherited a lot of problems outside the US from previous administrations (including the current one). And again, when you appoint somebody as your chief of staff whose father has been a member of a terrorist organization with a gruesome record and who names his son after a fallen hero from another notorious terrorist organization, that would hardly send a good message to the people in the Middle East.
It's understandable (though not acceptable) when you distance yourself from Muslims just to save some votes in the election. But alienating yourself further from the Muslim world after you get elected wouldn't help much with rebuilding American image abroad (which has already been tarnished by wrongdoings in the past). The President of the United States, more than anything, should be a representative of power, resolve and principles.
I'm still unhappy about how Obama handled his Muslim faith allegations, or his relationship with his pastor (among other things). And that led me write my angry rant, Obama in God we Trust. By that, I had no intention to defend him; rather, I was angry with the racism and bigotry that led to such rumors. And Obama didn't stand in the face of the problem; he simply caved in. And he continues to do so. I think this open letter which was written before his election, speaks clearly about hope, change and reality.
On a general note, one of my friends had written a political sociology analysis long before the election, predicting with certainty that Obama would win the election. While I don't agree with his main argument of conspiracy theory, I find many interesting observation in his post: The Barack Conspiracy, How to Salvage a Collapsing System.
No comments:
Post a Comment