The inauguration of America's first black president was watched by a global television audience of billions. It was a watershed event, shared with a world that is overwhelmingly non-white. But the surprising thing about Barack Obama's inaugural address is that it dwelt so little on race, with only a passing reference to how far America has come in its journey towards equal rights.
The immense crowd on the Mall, many of them African-Americans, came to rejoice in this historic moment in their history. But the message the new president delivered was not a crowd pleaser. There were few memorable phrases. What they heard was a tough message, almost stern. It did not match the soaring oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I have a dream.†The message the President wanted to convey was, I have a plan, and it will demand hard work and a renewed sense of responsibility.
His admonishment to “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin the work of remaking America†signalled a clean break from the Bush administration, which had responded to the 9/11 attacks by suggesting Americans go out and shop. The new president said the time of “protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions†has passed, and that the “stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.†It was a challenge to America to embrace a new brand of politics - as well as a criticism of the record of the ex-president who sat listening a few feet away.
The greatest challenge to President George W. Bush in his two contentious terms was the horrifying terrorist attacks on America. His bellicose response and willingness to sacrifice human rights in the name of a “War on Terror†did great damage to America's image in the world. The challenge to President Obama is the frightening financial crisis that is pulling down banks and businesses around the world in a vortex of debt that is swallowing up hundreds of billions of dollars. The success or failure of his new administration will be determined by how well the new president faces this challenge.
His first priority will be to win bipartisan approval of his fiscal plans to revive the economy. That means some of his campaign promises, such as tackling global warming and reforming health care, may have to be modified or postponed. It will be easier for President Obama to deliver changes that do not cost a lot – such as banning the use of torture, closing down the prison and kangaroo courts in Guantanamo, and talking to Iran.
Some of the foreign challenges he faces will resist easy solutions. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of those. Since there seems to be no possibility of a permanent solution in the near future, he will send a special envoy to the region to give a new impetus to what politicians cynically call “the peace process.†Chances are the process will go nowhere, and the president will have to put Palestine on hold.
One problem he cannot postpone is the long war in Afghanistan. He intends to put more troops there as he draws down troops from Iraq. And he would like to draw elements of the Taliban into a peace agreement or a coalition government in Kabul, similar to the strategy that seems to be working in Iraq. A solution in Afghanistan must also involve Pakistan, which has become a sanctuary for the Taliban and assorted militants who use it as a staging ground for attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The word is that he will send another special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. If as rumored he selects Richard Holbrooke, one of America's best professional diplomats, that will indicate progress in Afghanistan is one of Mr. Obama's top priorities. But whether the new administration can pacify a primitive and lawless country where other great powers have failed in the past is an open question.
All of this explains the tone of President Obama's inaugural address. When he spoke of “gathering clouds and raging storms,†of “crisis†and “our darkest hours,†that was not hyperbole. It was something the American public has rarely heard from recent administrations: the hard truth.
