Obama presidency and the world

[Tsontos]

The election is over. What does it mean for the world?

Post anything he is doing, any policies he's instituting in this thread.

[Petros Houhoulis]

Originally Posted by Tsontos

The election is over. What does it mean for the world?

Post anything he is doing, any policies he's instituting in this thread.

You'll probably have to wait until January 20 when he enters the White House.

Of course there is a scenario that some million people shall gather outside of the White House and demand from the shrub to leave the premises, or else they shall invade and lynch them, and then the shrub shall escape to some cave in Pakistan. Then Cheney shall die of heart attack (most likely some people shall attack him, rip off his heart and eat it) and then Pelosi shall take the Presidency and immediately pass it to Obama.

By that time everybody shall realize that McCain has been dead for several months now...

Anyway, all of this is rumors and scenarios, but don't expect Bush to spend so much time in the White House from now on. Probably he shall have retired to his ranch in Texas within a week or so...

[Tsontos]

He'll be very busy from now until January don't worry.

[Petros Houhoulis]

Originally Posted by Tsontos

He'll be very busy from now until January don't worry.

Nobody is paying attention to Bush anyway, since quite a few months.

[zefs]

An Interview with Barack Obama associate, Alexi Giannoulias
Tuesday 11 November 2008, by Nicolas Mottas

Interview to Lambros Papantoniou, Correspondent in Washington D.C.

Q: What’s the message of the U.S. elections?

The electoral victory of my friend, Senator Barack Obama, is of great importance not only for America but for the whole world. As he himself had said in the Democratic Convention of 2004, in Boston, people were coming to America because it was a magic place. Everybody was seeing ’hope’ in America. Unfortunately, America was diverged from the route of hope lately. But, now, the American people have woke up and realized that we must take the right route again.

Q: Did you have the opportunity to meet him during the election day?

Of course! I was with him until the end of the day. Indeed, we were playing basketball together during midday, while people were voting. We had played in Iowa and he won (the caucus elections). We didn’t play basketball in New Hampshire and we lost. After New Hampshire we played every day and since then we didn’t lose an election.

Q: What was he saying during the game on the election day?

He was very calm. On the contrary, I was anxious and nervous. He was laughing, he was among friends feeling comfortably. That man is always gentle. He faces everything with absolute collectedness.

Q: What do you believe was the source of his collectedness?

Obama believes in America and trusts the American people. All newspapers were writing about the possibility of a ’Bradley effect’, but Barack was sure that the majority of the Americans wanted that Change. He was feeling that the ’racial’ factor wouldn’t have a role in the elections.

Q: Do you believe that he will persist in his pre-election positions regarding Greece’s national issues or he will follow his predecessors’ example?

I don’t believe that he will be like president Carter. I think that Barack and Biden understand our issues better. Even better than Clinton. Barack Obama sees the international community and international relations differently from Bush and McCain. I think that all these are important. In the Policy Paper they stated that the Cyprus Issue is a matter of international legitimacy. As for the Macedonian Question, you punish Greece - which was always an ally of yours - in favor of Skopjeans, just because they sent 80 troops in Iraq? (reference to the Bush Policy). Barack Obama will not make such mistakes.

Q: How important was the contribution of the Greek Diaspora in Obama’s victory?

I’m very proud for our Diaspora. Of course, there will always be Greeks supporting either the Democrats or the Republicans. There were people from the Greek Diaspora who supported Barack from the very start; Papanikolaou, Mougiaris, Zambas, Athens, Christopher and many others. They saw Obama’s potential to win, as well as that he will be better for our issues. But there is also a new generation of people, who couldn’t sign checks, but they went out to work (for the campaign). They worked in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia, Florida, Ohio. And if someone will see what has been done in every state, he will therefore understand the role of Greek Americans in Obama’s victory.

Q: Is Barack Obama aware of that, Mr.Giannoulias?

Of course he knows. His close collaborators know that too, as well as his campaign team.

Q: I discern an especial sensitivity regarding the so-called ’Macedonian Question’...

Since I was a little child, from my parents, I know that Macedonia is the fatherland of Alexander the Great. And while we are proud for our history, we cannot close our eyes and ears when somebody tries to change it. We cannot stay with our hands crossed and allow Skopje to steal our history.

Q: What do you admire in Barack Obama?

He is a very clever man. He graduated with an A average from Harvard’s Law School. Being such a clever person Barack Obama could do many things. He could earn a lot of money. He decided to devote his life to public issues. That counts a lot. Barack did not get involve with politics just to become somebody; he could have an easier life. A few years ago, he and his family were living in a very small apartment.

Barack Obama cares for peoples’ problems. And when he said, during his speech in Boston in 2004, "I am my brothers keeper! I am my sisters keeper!", he really meant it. He is totally dedicated to fellow beings and especially to those who suffer.

Q: A message for our readers?

The election of Barack Obama in the U.S. Presidency is a good start, not only for America, but for the whole world. We have a lot of work ahead and we have to be ready. The solution to the big problems which America and the world face is Barack Obama.

Translation from ’Eleftheros Typos’, 9/11/2008.
phantis.com

[zefs]

Can We Believe in Change? A View from Europe
Tuesday 11 November 2008, by Nicolas Mottas

When this article will be published, the 44th President of the United States of America will have been elected by the American citizens. Europe and the rest of the World awaits for the November 4th results, hoping that the slogan of ’Change’ will soon become practice. The eight years-long administration of George W.Bush did not improve the Euro-Atlantic relations; on the contrary, it was step back, contributing to the distortion of America’s political image in the world. According to trusty inquiries, [1] under the Bush Presidency ’anti-Americanism’ is widely reached new heights, the deeper and broader than at any time in modern history. The Iraq War Policy in 2003 was distractive, as a result of the ’hawkish’, imperialistic, view of International Politics.

The new President has the opportunity to reverse the status created by the Bush administration, to cooperate closely with its European allies and to show the appropriate respect to International organizations (e.g. United Nations), taking collective and not unilateral decisions. Traditionally, the relation between Europe and the United States is of great importance for world diplomatic issues. Their shared and common values are inextricably connected with the principles of Democracy, Freedom, respect of Human and Civil Rights. That has been confirmed many times in the past; during the two World Wars, the Cold War, during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the fall of the Berlin Wall and most recently during the difficult times of September 11th.

Τhe issue of ’Security’ was always in the very heart of the Euro-Atlantic relations. We must not forget that the European Coal and Steel Community was launched in a period when the U.S. presence in Europe was very strong, just two years after the establishment of the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Many decades have passed since the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan but Europeans do not forget America’s contribution to their continent’s resurgence from the distraction of the two World Wars. Moreover, the United States owe the creation of their powerful multinational social entity to those Europeans who wholesomely emigrated to the States during the 20th century, creating hardworking communities and strengthening the ’American Dream’.

The European Union of the 27 member-states, through its enlargements towards Eastern Europe and the Baltic states contributes significantly to the enhancement of Stability and Democracy in the broader region which is crucial for the U.S. interests. Today, Brussels and Washington collaborate in many fields of international politics, from the Transatlantic Economic Council to matters regarding Climate Change and Energy Security. That cooperation must be protected and moreover expanded, as long as there are significant political issues which need solutions. There are open, difficult, challenges for both Europe and America, such as the recent Economic crisis, the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the battle against terrorism, the consolidation of Democracy and Stability in regions such as the Middle East and the Balkan peninsula. Furthermore, there is a need for a balanced energy policy, in collaboration with emerging superpowers like Russia and China. Its not easy but also not impossible.

However, neither the United States of America, nor Europe, can solve the above challenges alone. A cooperation is needed, having as a base the shared principles which have been proved as the unifying elements of the traditional Euro-American friendship. Its about time for Washington to rethink the blind inconsiderate policies and bring at the forefront of its Foreign Policy agenda the word ’collaboration’. It would be therefore wrong if the European perspective of international politics is not taken into account in the United States, as it happened during the Bush presidency. There is a common destiny for America and Europe and that’s to work together for a better future. I sincerely hope that Barack Obama and Joe Biden understand that need and will do their best to fulfil it.
phantis.com

[Tsontos]

US lobbyists face the cold shoulder

Anne Davies, Washington
November 13, 2008

HOW exactly does President-elect Barack Obama plan to keep the jackals of the lobbying industry at bay, in a city like Washington where every second person is pushing a barrow?

The first answers emerged yesterday when his team announced a tough ethics code that will govern who can work on the transition to government of the Democratic administration.

Transition co-chairman John Podesta said the campaign proposed to put principle into practice by using a strict lobbying code that will apply to all people who accept jobs on the team. It also plans to use the internet to tell the world exactly who is working where on the transition.

Lobbyists were banned from Senator Obama's election team, but they can assist with his move into government as long as they de-register as lobbyists and their activities do not cross into policy areas they have tried to influence.

There is no blanket ban on lobbyists, but they will not be able to do transition work in their area of expertise if they lobbied in that area in the past 12 months. If they help the new administration, they will face a ban for 12 months on lobbying on matters where they had an influence.

The tough rules, which were due to be posted on the internet overnight, are having the effect that talented Democrats are stepping up to help but are finding themselves either rejected or assigned to projects where they have little expertise.

"I've heard the complaint, which is we're leaving all this expertise on the side, because we're leaving all the people who know everything out in the cold. And so be it," Mr Podesta said. "That's a commitment that the American public expects and it's one that we intend to enforce during the transition, I know he (Obama) intends to enforce in his government, so that the undue influence of Washington lobbyists and the revolving door of Washington ceases to exist."

He made the announcement at the first formal briefing of the Obama transition team. The operation, in a nondescript office in downtown Washington, employs 450 individuals and has a budget of $US12 million. He said the same rules would apply as did during the campaign; the Obama campaign would only accept donations from individuals and not from lobbyists or political action committees.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-lo...1112-5nyy.html

[Mavet]

I think he'll be responsible for lots of changes not only in USA also abroad his country. It will be judged very severe by all if it fails to achieve these purposes... Don't forget he is the first black president, and maybe the last one...