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"Obama biro, yawne yo!" (Obama is coming,
clear the way) -- Tens of thousands of cheering Luo "Tribesmen" and
ululating women screamed as they welcomed Senator Barack Obama
(D-IL) back to his father's ancestral land -- Nyangoma Kogelo
village in Luo Land, Western Kenya, several weeks ago.
In a matter of hours Obama had soared to
unprecedented political prominence in Kenya, eclipsing a bunch of
corrupt and heartless nincompoops -- The (Mt. Kenya Mafia), who are
ruthlessly grinding beautiful Kenya to the ground.
The only difference between the Mt. Kenya
Mafia and the current U.S. Republican administration, is that the
former have brought Kenya down to it's "Economic Knees," while
it's virtually impossible for George Bush's government to bring
down the mighty economy of the United States, no matter how much
they misappropriate it's coffers by way of inflated Iraq
reconstruction contracts or Katrina FEMA trailers. Otherwise both
groups employ similar schemes - exploiting and manipulating ethnic
(racial) intolerance and promoting rampant corruption -- a bunch of
"cold-blooded" louts.
The six year cesspool of a mess presided
over by the Bush administration might not be in vain after all. It
has made America hungry for a messenger with a message of hope.
In the NBC "Meet The Press" interview of
Sunday 22nd October, I watched Senator Obama intimate that -- based
on the responses he has been receiving across the country, he is
considering running for the presidency of The United States in
2008.
What impressed me most about him is how he
tackled the question regarding his previous assertion in 2004 --
that he would complete his six year Senate term and not run for
President in 2008: "I have thought about the possibility, but I
have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth I think is
required," Obama said. "My main focus is on 2006, and making sure
that we re-take the Congress. After November 7th, I will sit down
and consider it."
Unlike the shifty, programmed, and
selfishly partisan politicians I am used to watching on Sunday
morning political TV, Barack Obama countered Tim Russert's
questions with poise, spontaneity and most important, he seemed
very genuine.
In a political system muddied and tainted
by arrogance, corruption and incompetence, watching and listening
to Obama is inordinately refreshing.
In Obama I see an intelligent and capable
man, unlike the current President who constantly reminds me of an
unprepared and confused "open book, open notes" exam taker, badly
rehearsed and totally incapable of articulating his views without
the stewardship of his father's cronies, Karl Rove his "Political
Architect" and a bone breaking conglomeration of "Hyena" special
interest groups.
Obama's apparent good human qualities
added to the fact that he is a great American story, makes the
Senator a very attractive prospect for the ultimate prize in
politics -- The Presidency of The United States.
Is Obama Presidential material?
Many cite his lack of political
experience, claiming his resume is too thin for a run at the
Presidency. I disagree and here is why:
1. Unlike other black leaders, Obama
doesn't grind "white noses" in Racism, and at the same time he is
a symbol of hope to millions of dis-affected blacks and other
minorities.
Judging by his Senatorial election win of
a 70% majority, Obama has proven that he is a very powerful vote
magnet across racial lines. He has established an "inclusive" track
record that would be vital in a presidential election if he decides
to run. His candidacy would draw out millions of dormant black
voters thus making the Democratic candidacy more viable.
On the flipside, we all know that there
are some whites such as the right wing gutter constituents of
con-man Rush Limbaugh, who will forever embrace Racism and will
never accept a black president. A President Obama would mark the
beginning of the placement this irritant breed to the fringes of
political obscurity.
2. He is NOT a bumbling idiot, appears
humble and has not been tainted with partisan politics. Perhaps
even more important is that he is a confident intellectual, which I
think is a necessary pre-requisite for handling the complex issues
of the highest political office in the world.
3. The last Republican President who had
some smarts was the foul-mouthed bigot -- Richard Milhouse Nixon,
who engineered his own downfall with a lethal concoction of
homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-black and "Communist Paranoia." As
a matter of fact Nixon's political career spanned three decades of
scare mongering, witch-hunts and dirty tricks, the same tactics
that have been successfully deployed by the current administration
over the last six years.
All others after him have been bumbling
buffoons with slight exceptions in George H.W. Bush and Ronald
Reagan.
Reagan the Serial Liar who made Americans
feel good about themselves, was not only ill informed but partially
senile towards the end of his second term - not particularly smart,
but a great "Political Actor," whose major achievements included
presiding over the disintegration of the Soviet Empire (which was
inevitable anyway), misuse of the World Bank and funding of CIA
death squads to safeguard the corporate thievery by US
multinational companies in Latin American countries.... and the
worst in my opinion; propping the racist Apartheid regime in South
Africa.
The "Great Communicator" was just another
Republican crook!
Bill Clinton and John Kennedy did not have
that much experience. Abraham Lincoln ran after two years in the
House, Woodrow Wilson after two years as governor, and Franklin D.
Roosevelt & Jimmy Carter after four years as governor.
Perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King summed it
up best in his "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon delivered at
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 1968 - He
said: "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.... You
only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you
can be that servant," qualities that are thoroughly lacking in the
Republican base - the "self-chosen" people of "Faith."
If the Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton,
a very polarizing Democrat, the Republican smear spigots will spill
out of control and flood the whole country to an extent that the
Katrina calamity will look like a storm in a teacup. On the other
hand, an Obama nomination would fuel vicious racial and below the
belt "Nyangau" attacks from the right wing, like the slime being
spewed by Republican troglodytes against black Democrat Harold Ford
Jr. in the Tennessee, or by incumbent Senator George "Macaca" Allen
in Virginia.
I wonder if Senator Obama has the stomach
for such personal and racist attacks -- a GOP staple!
Colin Powell assessed these circumstances
in 2000 and chickened out, and subsequently dimmed his star serving
in this ham-fisted administration for four years before being
pushed out in favor of "yes-woman" Condoleezza Rice. It is rumored
that he feared political assassination.
Will Obama follow through or is his
potential candidacy just hype?
It is time for America to put it's Racist
legacy behind it, to re-assess its future, and take a closer look
at this rising star, for I think Barack Obama is ready -- to
cleanse the "maligned" soul of America.
About the Author
About The Author: James Opiko writes for
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