The Hindu Business Line : Obama’s call for change

Right from the time he offered himself as a candidate for US presidency, Senator Barack Obama has been constantly plugging the theme of change. Indeed, there can be no doubt that the passion and sincerity he puts into it have electrified his audiences and won him such large following. That was also the secret of the impressive show he put up during his recent European odyssey. He got the ‘rock star’ treatment in Berlin where more than 200,000 gathered to see hi m and listen to him.

But what does Senator Obama mean by his pitch for change? He surely must know that it is such an evocative word in itself that most people are apt to be carried away without a precise idea of the specifics. He must also be knowing that this was not the first time that candidates have been wafted to the White House on the promise of their own versions of change. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had his ‘New Deal’, John Kennedy his ‘New Frontier’, and Lyndon Johnson ‘the Great Society’. Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter too rode to victory chanting the same mantra of change.

Blueprint for change

It is, perhaps, because Senator Obama is aware of all this, that he has been trying to garnish his call as ‘Change we can believe in’, which, incidentally, was also the logo written in giant letters on his chartered plane in which he undertook his recently tour. Even the addition of the extra words are of little help in understanding the exact purport.

The Blueprint for Change covering 23 major issues, as he sees them disseminated widely by using all the facilities of information and communications technologies, looks like more of the same medicine dispensed by other presidential pharmacies in the past.

For instance, take ethics which is at the very core of governance: He says that he will not let lobbyists write national policies, government actions will be transparent, and above board, and misuse of authority and public funds will be stopped. But how?

Or, take foreign policy with which the rest of the world is concerned. Senator Obama declares: “I will end the war in Iraq… I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century: Nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, “You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.”

Ok, what about economy which has begun to matter the most? The Senator promises that he will implement a 21st century economic agenda to help ensure that America can compete in a global economy, and ensure the middle-class is thriving and growing. He will increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education, and research and development; modernize and simplify our tax code so it provides greater opportunity and relief to more Americans; and implement trade policies that benefit American workers and increase the export of American goods.

Other problems too do not stand out for any radical remedies. The Blueprint, in short, will not set the Potomac on fire.

Of course, he may still win because of his youth, dynamism, good intentions, fine presence, effective communication and mass appeal and charisma. His earnestness of purpose will certainly impel him to try hard to live up to the expectations he has aroused. Even if he makes a small dent in the encrusted system here and there, he can do enormous good. Only, he had better recall the old adage: “Provided you realise what little you can do, the little you do can make a lot of difference”!

B. S. RAGHAVAN