Obama is good for the US, the world and Turkey, too

I, then, continued to say: “I consequently think that the US presidential election this year is of great importance for the global community. The Republican Party is dominated by neoconservatives (the core of the Israel lobby in the US) and Christian Zionists, both of which work against the interests of both the US and Israel itself. I therefore clearly am in favor of a Democratic president. I would not at all be disappointed if Hillary Clinton is elected the next president of the US, not only because that would constitute a great victory for women, but also because that would mean the return of the Clintons to the White House. But my real preference for the White House is surely Barack Obama, because part of his roots come from Africa, because his middle name is Hussein and because he seems to have the capacity to re-brand the US.” And I closed saying, “I admit, however, that my preferences rarely coincide with those of the American electorate.” (Jan. 14, 2008)

The American electorate’s choice in this election has, however, coincided with the choice of the people of the world. By electing Obama, the son of a black Muslim from Kenya and a white Protestant from Kansas, who has gone to school in Hawaii and Indonesia, attended the best American universities on scholarship and is a man of admirable intelligence and character, the US has proven that it is a great democracy that has the power to renew itself. By electing Obama president, the US is moving into the postmodern age, the age -- which means before anything else -- when irrespective of race, religion and ethnicity, all are accorded equal worth. The US has put in charge a truly global leader with ideas and a personality which people all over the world have respect for.

Some argue that if the financial crisis had not broken out just a few weeks before Election Day, if the Republicans had nominated a better candidate than John McCain, if McCain had not chosen the ignorant Sarah Palin as his running mate, if Dick Cheney had not made public his support for the Republican ticket, etc., Obama would not have been able to win. There is no doubt that the Republicans have failed, and failed badly in many respects. But the victory in this election was surely earned by the democrats of America and, especially, by the youth of America, who have mobilized their energy for change in the US and with it the world.

The US needed change, and the world needed change in the US. The Bush administration is not only responsible for the current financial crisis in the US, which is hurting economies worldwide, but its arrogant, unilateralist policies have ruined the image and reputation of the US all over the world. As underlined by Obama in his victory speech, the real power of the US rests not in the power of its economy or military, but in the power of the ideals of liberty and democracy which it stands for. People for peace, freedom and democracy all over the world now expect that with Obama in charge the US will no longer be what it was under President George W. Bush and will listen to its allies, respect international law, avoid militarism and use its enormous power to help solve problems of global concern.

Bush’s militarist policies have ruined the image and reputation of the US around the world, but perhaps nowhere as badly as in Turkey. A clear majority of Turks expressed favorable views of the US during the presidency of Bill Clinton, whereas the percentage of those who supported the US fell to single digits during the Bush administration. It was surely not anti-Americanism, but anti-Bushism that became so rampant in this country. The hope now is that Obama will repair the damage that has been done and will establish good relations between Ankara and Washington based on a mutual respect for national interests.

During his election campaign, Obama did not fail to underline “the importance of close relations between the US and a stable and democratic Turkey, the most advanced democracy in the Muslim world” and promised to restore the strategic partnership with Turkey that “has been deeply strained in recent years, most importantly by the Bush administration’s misguided and mismanaged intervention in Iraq.”