A second term for Obama

Tue, Jan 22, 2013

President of the United States, Barack Obama, was sworn in yesterday, for a second term, with the usual pomp and ceremony that accompanies these once every four years events in Washington, DC.{{more}}

Although yesterday’s inauguration ceremony was attended by far fewer persons and did not elicit the excitement as did the swearing in four years ago, Obama’s victory the second time around is arguably more significant than was the case in 2008.

It has been argued that the first time around, Obama was swept into office on a wave of anti-Bush sentiment, but this time, his victory is an endorsement of his performance during the first term.

Certainly, his accomplishments are significant, not the least of which is the passage of the Affordable Care Act (2010), which will cover 32 million uninsured Americans beginning 2014. Other accomplishments of the Time Magazine 2012 Person of the Year include ending the War in Iraq, the “elimination” of Osama bin Laden and turning around the US auto industry.

Late during his first term, Obama articulated his support for “marriage equality”, and although polls indicate that this position was unpopular among many religious black voters, this demographic still voted for him overwhelmingly. Polls indicate that 93 per cent of blacks voted for Obama in the 2012 elections.

Despite disagreeing with some of his policies, blacks around the world are proud of what he represents as a black man. Additionally, his family projects a positive image of black families to the world, a good counter to the negative stereotypes so often portrayed in movies and on television. He also has a great asset in his wife Michelle, who enjoys an approval rating in the United States of 66 per cent, which is even higher than her husband’s.

Although Obama is wildly popular among people in the Caribbean, an Obama presidency did not, during the first term, offer much for the Caribbean specifically.

His main help to the region was in the area of strengthening the capacity of security forces and curbing drug trafficking, but it is well recognized that this is as much in the interest of the United States as it is in the interest of the Caribbean. Perhaps during this term, more emphasis could be placed on providing resources for education, health care, job creation and poverty alleviation.

SEARCHLIGHT congratulates President Obama on his second term in office and wishes him a successful second term, particularly in brokering peace around the world and turning around the economy of his country. His success, especially in the latter area, would have a direct bearing on how successful we ourselves are, in lifting our economies out of the doldrums, here in the Caribbean.