We are ready to lead once more-Barack Obama

As I sat in the TV room of my hostel with 10 other guys on the 20th of January,2009,2200hrs IST, I realized I was one of the millions from across the world, from the biggest metros to the smallest villages, witnessing an incident that will be written down in the pages of world history in bold words with an indelible ink. It was the day Abraham Lincoln had dreamed for and Martin Luther King Jr. had fought for. The first African-American President of the United States was about to be sworn in. Like over a million of others gathered in front of the Capitol building, I was waiting for the swearing in ceremony to start. It felt as if something important was about to happen as soon as Barack Obama was sworn in as the President.

The atmosphere in my hostel was festive with people drifting in and out of the room and cracking jokes on the celebrities gathered for the ceremony. And I was sitting there staring intently at the TV screen, trying to tune out the noise surrounding me. BBC was doing a live coverage of the ceremony. After half hour of TV-staring I started to feel bored. As if on cue, Michelle Obama and her daughters arrived, to keep me hooked on. The TV was showing anybody who is or was associated with the White House or the Capitol. Then there was George W. Bush serenely walking towards the stage oblivious to the enormity of the damage he was leaving behind or indifferent to it.

Finally the protagonist of the show arrived amidst roars and applauses. The day he had been dreaming and campaigning and waiting for had dawned and he looked as ready as he can ever be to shoulder the huge responsibility awaiting him. The aura surrounding the man was almost tangible. As if you could cut through it with a scissor. Finally when it was time to take the oath Obama stumbled and faltered before swearing to “protect, preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States”.

What followed next was one of the grandest speeches I have ever had the chance to listen to and it was delivered such charisma and zeal that it overlooked the previous slip in repeating the oath. It was filled with hope, optimism, determination, conviction and similar adjectives. He started off by thanking George Bush for his sacrifice for the nation and his generosity and co-operation. Whether it was sincere or sarcastic is known only to Obama. He sounded sincere when he said the challenges facing America will be met. He pointed out how America is now and how it will come out of the predicament. He spoke about the past in which people had travelled across the oceans and toiled in the sun till their hands went raw so that their children and grandchildren and grand grand children would have a better life.

By and large, it was a very inspiring speech; for those who wanted to be inspired. Jon Favreau, Obama’s Chief speech writer had made sure of that. For the rest of the cynics, like me it was just a beautiful speech prepared for a special occasion; a speech into which much thought was put in to make it appealing to those who voted for him and make them think they have made the right decision. Now this observation of mine would raise a few eyebrows. The reason why I think so is because, with due respect to him, Obama could not have chosen a worse time to become the President of the largest economy of the world; an economy which has crumbled within the blink of an eye and taken many economies down along with it, a time when the country is looking at the worst economic crisis and the unemployment rate has leaped to a 16-year high of 7.2%. The markets are battered and so is the hope and belief of the people.

How successful will Obama be in restoring America’s past glory and its people’s confidence? Will the country have “A New Birth of Freedom”? Will Obama be the change the country is desperately hoping for? History will answer these questions for us. Meanwhile, all we can do is nothing but keep our fingers crossed, hoping that this man can work miracles.