Do we expect too much from Obama?

(c) EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

There must be something like 12,712,159,642,129,052 articles in the blogosphere proclaiming Obama’s genius. A further 233,123,120, people who would quit their jobs, pack their bags and head to a distant, barren island armed with a bottle of water and a pair of shoes at the mere say so of the new US president.

Yes, something tells me, though I can’t quite put my finger on what gives it away, that people like Barack Obama. And I don’t blame them. I’m one of them. But it does concern me the levels to which people have raised him up.

It’s not that he isn’t capable of being one of the greatest leaders of any country, of any time, because he is. But much like a girl you may have fallen in love with and spent years pining for, the despair you can feel if she lets you down is devastating.

So let’s be realistic. He has gathered such momentum and popularity because he has a certain quality that most politicians do not – empathy. A quality that is striking, when you read his books. A genuine understanding of people, of both sides of the story. And a canny political instinct which is already bearing fruit.

Take the Middle East. The US has not changed its position, in real terms, much from the days of Bush. They are still pursuing the war on terror, are still friends with Israel. They still consider Iran a grave threat, and are promoting a two state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

But rather than fight the war on terror in Iraq, they’re fighting it in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In other words, where the terrorists actually are. In Iran, his pleas for peace have not gone unnoticed by the populace, even if it has by the leadership.
Elsewhere, he has shown that it is possibly to be pro Israel and defend their security interests whilst also advancing the Palestinian cause and showing empathy for their plight.

More than anything, what really hits home when you read his books and listens to his speeches is this. Here is a man who has no pre conceived bias, no hidden agenda or interests. He criticises those on the conservative right as much as those on the liberal left, which may surprise many. He is a unique politician, in that he is a genuine centrist. Not since JFK has there been a leader with as balanced and reasoned a political ideology.

All this is cause for optimism, and hope. But let’s not place too much pressure on him, because it is impossible to expect miracles from any man. Just as George Bush is inevitably going to be judged favourably by history, because of the unrealistic and unfair level to which he was lowered by the public, Obama will be judged negatively by the history books if we try to raise him to an impossible level.