Obama's Fleeting Moment

Time Out: Let's just take a moment to think about what we've just done. At 8:01 p.m. PST Tuesday Nov. 4, 2008 we elected the first black president of the United States. We knew the inevitable. It was going to happen. It did. Many of us cried. Those who witnessed the turbulent Civil Rights movement of the 1960s remain dumbstruck. It happened in our lifetime. A minority, an African-American, historically the most oppressed people in our country, achieved the impossible dream. President of the United States. If ever there was a time -- and there have been many -- this one is to be cherished: We can honestly say we are proud to be Americans. This is what we're all about. Barack Obama, son of a Kenyan father and white woman from Kansas, does not epitomize an end to racial prejudice but rather transcends it. As one foreign newspaper headline plagerized, Obama's election is one giant leap for mankind. Obama not only won, he won by an electoral college landslide and propelled a strong majority of Democrats to Congress. His election changes the demographics of America. His is a coalition of youth, minorities, women, labor, the affluent and those with more than high school diplomas. Exit polls indicated race was less a factor for Obama than age for the 72-year-old John McCain. Keep in mind that by 2020 America's white majority will be a minority. This election is a harbinger of what's to come. Most interesting is the reaction of the U.S. business community at home and foreigners abroad.

World Opinion: In Berlin, jaded teenagers at the bilingual John F. Kennedy School favored Obama by 86% but said that represented a rebuke of President Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and unilateral foreign policy, not the slick slogans from Obama who has yet to prove himself. At the United Nations headquarters in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon praised Obama and was confident the new administration would improve working relations which have been radioactive the past eight years. In Baghdad, today was the first time a group of poets and writers who meet twice a week for lunch and debate agreed on any topic: Obama. Such platitudes as "admirable," "inspirational" and "exciting" were heard among the members who represent all Iraqi factions -- the secular, religious, Sunnis, Shiites and former Saddam Hussein reform loyalists. "A black man in the White House, that is the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life," said Daoud al-Rahmani, a self-styled poet and satirist. Walid al-Jubouri, a Saddam loyalist responded he was skeptical the president-elect would stop what he described as America's plan to "occupy the world." In Kisimu, Kenya, where Obama's father was from, thousands danced in the streets shouting slogans of going to America without passports and beating their chests that a half-Kenyan was the new president of the United States. The last time this nation held a presidential election, riots erupted protesting the results. In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, nearly all the citizens favored Obama except the ruling class emirates. "Americans can't think outside the box," declared the news director for the nation's television network. When the U.S. networks announced the projected victory, the director shook his head. "I'm positively surprised," he said. "It's great." In New Delhi, the headline for the lead editorial in the Hindustan Times, read "The World Enters America." The editorial reminded the 44th U.S. president of a world connected with economic problems and two wars. "For America to chart these choppy waters, it will have to have a helmsman who understands and engages the world on the world's terms," it urged. In Buenos Aires, Alejandro Saks, a television writer celebrating the election with Americans at a local bar, said "There is a feeling that the first time since Kennedy, America has a different type of leader." Similar sentiments were expressed in Caracas and Bejing. Not since the immediate aftermath of 9/11 has the world regarded us in such high esteem. That's one characteristic of Americans. We like to be liked.

Business Not As Usual: Business leaders are coming to grips that the new Obama administration and strong Democratic Congress will mean new regulations they hope will not impede commerce. More importantly, they want more money from the government to help spur the economy. "If you think we won't get more regulation in places other than financial services, you're nuts," said General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt several weeks ago. "We'll get more regulation in health care, energy and other areas." He also said some of the regulations need not be a negative. It "could be a catalyst for positive change," he said referring to expanded jobs in the renewable energy fields. Another worry is the opinion Democrats will shift the balance of power from employers to unions which have been all but mortally wounded since the Reagan administration. Among other potential losers with the Democrats in power could be banks, private equity funds and Big Oil. Congress also is expected to push legislation requiring businesses to pay for the right to emit carbon dioxide under a cap-and-traide system. Coal and oil producers would be penalized although other energy producers would benefit. Businesses are concerned of health care mandates if Congress adopts a universal reform plan while U.S. pharmacuetical industries fear the monoply they hold selling drugs to Medicare will be open to global bidding. The defense sector is nervous Congress will reduce spending because of the bad economic conditions and a drawdown of troops in Iraq. The defense industry wants the Pentagon budget increased to 4% of gross domestic product, up from 3.1% this year but likely to get less than that. The nation's technology sector could thrive on new green policies but are holding back investments unless the Democrats change course and grant them tax investment credits to expand. As Bob Dylan wrote, times they're a changing.