A New President

With the world in such turmoil there is one event in 2007 that will catch the attention of most: the beginning of the American Presidential Campaign. While a successor for Bush will not be chosen until 2008, it is this year that will see the separation of the hopefuls from each party and emergence of the true contenders. Initially, each party will whittle down the list to one nominee (the Primaries) before throwing all of their support (and dollars) behind this lone figure. As the Presidency of George Bush has shown, there is no other office that has more power in the world, and the next resident of the White House will need every ounce of that power to pull America – and the world - out of its current nosedive.

With the campaign not yet up and running, the full list of nominees is not even yet finalised. Republicans so far considering running include Senator John McCain, former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former speaker (and bomb thrower) Newt Gingrich and Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. The merit of each may be discussed further over the course of the campaign, but I like McCain for now, whose credentials include a strong military background (5 years in a POW camp) tempered with honor and honesty (he authored legislation banning torture of US captives). Meanwhile the Democrats in the mix include former Senator John Edwards, John Kerry (beaten by Bush in ‘04, and prone to putting his foot in his mouth), the Reverend Al Sharpton and of course former first lady Hillary Clinton. Hillary may be able to win the primary, but many believe her to be unelectable as President.

Most interesting though to political commentators at present is the possible candidacy of another Democrat: Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Obama is only 45 years old (compared to say McCain who is 70 and Bush who is 60), and has only been a Senator since 2004. He was born to a (black) Kenyan father and (white) American mother, giving him wide appeal as an ‘everyman’ over his short career (he has been compared to Tiger Woods, and Oprah in this regard). He first turned political heads at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where he delivered a rousing and refreshing opening address. While he has not officially announced that he will run for President, he is already polling second behind Hillary – his announcement is expected some time this week.

The buzz surrounding such a young senator is unexpected to say the least, primarily because of his lack of political experience. If he were to become President, Obama would not be the youngest (Clinton was 46, JFK was 43 and Theodore Roosevelt was 42) but he would be the first black man (Hillary of course would be the first woman, and McCain would be the oldest man). What is exciting about Obama is certainly his charisma and skill at engaging the public, but also his reputation as a pragmatist and consensus builder. After 8 years of harsh partisan exchanges between the Democrats and Republicans, coupled with Bush’s authoritarian style – Barack is seen as a welcome change. In short (and maybe unfairly), he is seen by some as the candidate who will restore order and justice to the US and save it from the quicksand it is sinking into around the world.

At this early stage, Barack Obama is standing out because he’s different from your run of the mill politician, he seems like a normal guy, accessible and honest. They type of President the US could be proud of. First, let’s hope he runs, then that he wins – and finally that we realise that the needs and hopes of the American and Australian people aren’t always all that different.