Obama cannot fail
It is hazardous to write about someone -Barack Obama, in this instance whose every word and every move has been minutely analysed, written or talked about.
By Abhishek Singhvi
It is hazardous to write about someone -Barack Obama, in this instance whose every word and every move has been minutely analysed, written or talked about.
To try to be different or to strike a new note about Obama is a tall order. We know the statistical analysis of his victory, how he harnessed an unprecedented coalition of the young, of non-whites, of women and so on.
We know that he is one of the most cerebral presidents ever, an outstanding orator who exploited the internet in a hitherto unprecedented manner. We know his bio-data, his voting record and his tenacity of purpose. What then is left to write about?
Well, first, the issue that even though Obama won without overemphasising his race and even though what we see is undoubtedly the evolution of US society, has the revolution in the US fully occurred or is it still evolving?
To answer this, we have to ask: Would Obama have won had both his parents been black? One of Obama���s amazing achievements has been to make each of the two basic parts of American society -whites and non-whites- see him as their own and adopt him as their candidate. That the non-whites -not merely blacks, but Asians, Hispanics and all other shades of colour- did so is not very surprising, given Obama���s black paternity.
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But the question remains tantalisingly open: Would white American society have so readily adopted him had his mother, and hence his grandparents, also been black? The reaction of white males and of whites generally above 30 as also reports of several commentators across the US who have tried to elicit post-victory comments from -white- America, suggests that this is, at best, only phase one of the revolution although it has certainly facilitated the prospects of phase two i.e. the election of a -fully- black president. This is not to belittle or underplay the mammoth dimension of this evolution nor to do a -race- analysis of Obama���s victory but simply to raise a less discussed issue.
Second, Obama is a significant addition to the list of charismatic personalities analysed on the seven key elements of charisma itemised by Kozubska in her book.
Four of her seven key elements are clearly visible in Obama: supreme selfconfidence , vision (linked with values and a mission), communication ability and persistence, passion and doggedness about his goal. The other three -style, visibility and a certain mystique and enigma -were found in greater measure in Bill Clinton, who combined physical appeal with magnetic charm.
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Obama���s charisma arises from a depth and solidity which lends him an aura of sincerity much greater than that of Bill Clinton. It is the same charisma attached to Mahatma Gandhi or to Nelson Mandela and is different from the undoubted but radically different charisma of a Richard Branson or even that of JFK, the latter being in the Clinton mould.Obama reinforces the theory of broken homes acting as a spur to greatness and adversity honing achievement. Obama follows in a long line of diverse personalities transcending cultures, nationalities and vocations, where family disruption spurred unprecedented achievement.
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The global list includes Oprah Winfrey (incestuous childhood), Bill Clinton (wife-beating father and much remarried mother), Nicolas Sarkozy (divorced parents and himself twice divorced), John Lennon, Charlie Chaplin, Pierce Brosnan, Virginia Woolf, and so on. Generalisations are always partially inaccurate (including this one) and the reverse is not true viz that to achieve greatness, one must come from a disrupted childhood or a broken home.
Obama���s election puts an excessive burden of history on the non-whites, because his failure or an -ordinary-presidential term will be a setback for American society. The expectations aroused by Obama are scary and external factors beyond his control may doom his presidency. His origins may not have played that predominant a role in his election but they would definitely be factors cited for his failures. His success is thus vital for all that he symbolises, for the very -audacity of hope- which he has realised and to silence the -we told you so- critics inevitably waiting to condemn him and all that he stands for.
The writer is a jurist and Congress party spokesperson.
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