Volume No. 52

June, 2008

  WHAT AN OBAMA VICTORY COULD MEAN
 
      Barak Obama made history by being the first Afro-American to win the Democratic Party primaries. His appeal is evident among the youth, especially among white working class and middle-class youth, but most especially among immigrant minorities who are being sent as cannon fodder to places like Iraq and Afghanistan. This appeal has trickled among women, getting for Obama the endorsement of Oprah Winfrey and all the Kennedy women (and their men). Obama's campaign plank is riding on the strongest ever anti-war sentiment that has swept the United States since the Vietnam War, giving the Democrats the most number of seats  in during the last Congressional elections in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Even on the anti-war issue alone, which has drained the U.S. economy of almost $ 3 trillion dollars since the U.S. invasion of Iraq -according to former World Bank economist Stiglitz, Obama could win the presidency of the United States.
 
 

     Obama has given hope for change in both the domestic and foreign policy which have suffered with the pro-Big Business policies of George W. Bush, Jr. which have sliced if not reduced social benefits for ordinary Americans. Obama as president of the United States will have to grapple with the Jewish Fifth Columnists in the U.S. Government , the Arms Manufacturers' Lobby, the Oil Industry Lobby among others.
 
      Obama will need the support of the American people especially after the elections because that is when big business donors to his campaign starting from the primaries will be trying to collect. His principles and mettle will be tested soon enough. But what will an Obama victory possibly mean for the American people, the world and the Philippines?
 
      First, if he practices what he has been saying during the campaign so far, it would mean a significant reduction of U.S. military intervention in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. It means less body bags of U.S. soldiers going back home, less Iraqi civilians killed as collateral damage by indiscriminate U.S. "precision" missiles. It means that more U.S. taxpayers' money can be rechannelled for social services for the American people, and perhaps even more foreign assistance for development projects to other countries.
 
      Second, Obama could shift the current U.S. interventionary posture from the military to the environment. This is where a big power like the U.S. could shift its interventionary resources and advanced technology on a global scale to help address transnational issues such as global warming. This goes beyond any form of lip service, for the world is dipping on its edge of environmental catastrophy.
 
      Should we expect much from Obama? Yes, he represents the idealism of youth, and the hope of a lot of people (Americans and non-Americans) to right the wrongs and crimes inflicted by George W. Bush and Big Business. Republican presidential candidate Mc Cain represents another term for Bush and a continuation of the warmongering and militarization of U.S. foreign policy.  
 
      There is no other choice now. It is a step forward to change. The people of this planet hope for the better.