No More Mr. Nice Guy
are we ready for him to make the hard decisions?
2008-08-27
By Brian Gilmore

“If I ruled the world...”
      - Kurtis Blow

 Right after Russia invaded Georgia a few weeks back and the worldwide condemnations began, low-level chatter began on the Internet. A few scattered blogs, of little note, suggested that the invasion was exactly what America wanted. It would, as at least one blog asserted, justify the eventual invasion of Iran by the U.S.

I personally did not understand how these bloggers made these pronouncements without hard facts, but immediately as I read these rantings, Barack Obama came to mind.

Think about it for a moment: if he is elected, President Barack Obama will inherit the world. He will not only inherit the terrible economy, global warming, and all kinds of other potential calamities but President Obama will inherit the empire, as we know it. 

He will wake up on January 21, 2009 to the Iraq war disaster, the unstable crisis in Afghanistan, and a stronger, more aggressive Russia. He gets Pakistan, China, Iran, the Middle East, Africa, and lest we forget – the entire world.

Last I checked, the United States is the only superpower in the world. China is a growing economic power and a rival now of the U.S. but the United States still rules this place where we dwell. The U.S. polices the earth with the most expensive military in the history of the world. We have military bases worldwide. We have invaded countries routinely over the years when it serves our interests. We change regimes in other countries.

Yet, we also provide countries all over the earth with humanitarian aid, economic assistance, and top-notch security. We are the world, it can be said to a certain extent.

So as this incredible historical moment approaches, a black man, sitting on the cusp of power, forces all of us to ask:
Are you ready for Emperor Obama?

Of course, African-Americans are ready for President Obama. This is our American birthright. It is the natural culmination of the African-American struggle in the United States for real democracy and equality.

But on January 21, 2009, Barack Obama will be the caretaker of the world if he is elected. He will be forced to make decisions that are in the interests of the U.S. and not necessarily in the interests of other nations or many of his own citizens. He might make a decision like Lyndon Johnson did back in 1964 to escalate the war in Vietnam or he might be forced to bomb a country like Libya, as Ronald Reagan did that resulted in the death of Muammar Qaddafi’s 15 month old daughter.

Radio commentator, Glen Ford put the dilemma like this only recently:
“The African American reputation as the most consistently progressive ethnic group in the United States will stand or fall according to how Blacks comport themselves, politically, under a Barack Obama administration.”

 Is this so?

By all indications, Barack Obama is not fretting about the job. In an article last year in the journal, Foreign Affairs, Obama stated how he felt about the role of the U.S. in the world. It is very revealing about what we can expect if he gets elected.

“I will build a 21st-century military and 21st-century partnerships as strong as the anticommunist alliance that won the cold war to stay on the offensive everywhere from Djibouti to Kandahar,” Obama was quoted as saying.
This is interesting commentary. It clearly rejects isolationism but does not necessarily reject some of the country’s more controversial policies that many of us detest.

Obama’s memoir, “The Audacity of Hope” is full of more of the same. Obama is deferential to Ronald Reagan, offering him high praise. Obama also suggests that the foreign policy he will pursue will be like that of President George H.W. Bush. Of course, this is the same George H.W. Bush who ruthlessly invaded Panama and waged the first war in Iraq.

In addition, Obama, despite the fact that our military budget is a financial drain on all of us, calls for an even higher military budget “to restore readiness and replace equipment.” He also does not believe the U.S. should surrender the role of the ruler of the world.

“No other nation on earth,” he writes eloquently, “has a greater capacity to shape...the global system.
Black people have ruled nations throughout history. In the ancient world, we ruled the world. These days, we rule countries, cities, counties, and states. We can do this.

But this is different and we know it. We have to understand that. This is a challenge to everyone. President Obama will be a great historical moment for the country, for black people, and for the world if it happens.

But how we all respond to it will say so much more.

Brian Gilmore is a writer and public policy living in Washington, D.C.