The meaning of Barack...

Much of the discussion about Barack Obama's experience to be Commander-in-Chief fails to recognize the global transformational aspect of his prospective ascension to the Presidency of the United States. As I travel around the world talking to officials at various levels, I am time and time again asked about Obama's "real" prospects of winning. Not lost on me is the fascination foreigners have about our brand of democracy. An Obama election, one told me, would be the strongest argument for Democracy the US could muster. It would be more persuasive than the gun and more powerful than diplomacy. It would create a yearning for similar processes around the world. Nicholas Sarkozy, the recently elected President of France, suggested in a 60 mn interview that what he wants to achieve in France is the kind of upward mobility the US has embedded in its values and institutions. To paraphrase him, the ability of a country to create opportunities for the likes of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Domestically, it is quite clear that an Obama election would not only inspire a new generation to get involved, but it might very well weaken the hold destitution has on inner city kids. To know, from Obama's experiences, that one can "clean up" and have a second chance at "being somebody" and making a difference in the world is a powerful pull away from the streets and into the mainstream of delayed gratification and achievement.

Although this may sound like preaching the coming of a new "Messiah" - it is actually rooted in an attempt at deeply understanding the meaning of Barack Obama and his eventual ascension to the Presidency.