Author: Dr. Mohammad T. Al-Rasheed
For all the talk of 'popular' rule by 'the people' in 'democratic' countries, the truth is becoming more and more evident to the point where the blind can see it now: These countries are ruled by the 'Establishment' and not by the front they present.
The USA has the most 'democratic' constitution in the world. Give and take a few here and there, and the fact that this constitution is pretty solid and gets implemented is a given fact. Yet power, as such, lies with the hidden establishment and not with the President (his men and women included), nor with the Houses of Congress. President Obama's tenure has proved this fact more than any president before him.
As with trees, including the big and majestic Red Woods of California, so it is with politics in a democracy: they are ruled by their roots. Such roots are hidden, and so is the Establishment. What I mean by the 'Establishment' is the entrenched interests, the civil authorities and their employees, the special groups (religious, political, economic, Wall Street, C-Street, et al), and the grand policy, especially in Foreign Affairs, that rarely changes with presidents or any given administration to the point where the change is starkly visible.
I personally don't doubt President Obama's intentions. He is a learned man, a man of integrity, and has some grand ideas for his country and the world. Yet, by all counts, he has failed to live up to expectations. He is to blame somewhat for this since he so desperately wants to be 'popular' and liked. You can't do that from such a position. Churchill led Britain through its darkest hours yet was thrown out in the following elections. That is lesson enough.
Whether we like it or not, there are several issues Obama is burdened with that hinder his progress. His ethnicity is one thing. Never mind all the talk about racial equality; the fact remains that many in the USA are not comfortable with someone like him holding the highest office in the world, let alone the USA. Then there is his middle name, which is so starkly un-Anglo Saxon that it brings bouts of cold nocturnal sweat to the likes of Bachmann and Limbaugh. Add to the mix Fox News and you see that his chances of popularity on a Kennedy scale are impossible. The brave souls on MSNBC do their best to tell some of the truth but they hardly reach the masses of Limbaugh and Fox.
Now that the world economy is about to collapse, the Arab World in turmoil, wars are still ongoing, Israel threatening to attack Iran putting the world on a brink that was never reached even during the coldest and darkest moments of the Cold War, Obama is more or less powerless. The 'Establishment' is determined he keeps to the path they charted no matter what the cost. Their aim? To make sure he is a one term president.
This is his chance. One more year left in his term. He should take a page from Bush two's book and ride roughshod over those who hinder his progress. If he wants to save America's economy, keep world peace, rescue Europe from inflicting yet another disaster on humanity, albeit economic this time, he should act. Forget about a second term. President Roosevelt is not remembered for how many terms he served, he is remembered for the things he did, not least of all WWII and the New Deal.
In these difficult times, courage, Mr. President, is what is needed and not fame. Leave fame to those in Hollywood. They come and go by the dozen and when they talk, they are a disgrace --linguistically and intellectually.
