The president-elect's brilliant evocation of optimism raises our expectations of the policies to come, argues Breda O'Brien
MUSING ABOUT Obama's wonderful acceptance speech made me revisit Brian Cowen's speech when he was first elected as Taoiseach. Cruel, perhaps, to even think about comparing him to one of the world's greatest orators, but it was not my intention to mock. I remember that speech of our Taoiseach's as being heartfelt, and quite different to the depressing material he produces nowadays.
Remember his outing after the Budget on RTÉ's nine o'clock news, when he seemed to be attempting to break the landspeed record for how many meaningless political phrases could be stuffed into one soundbite? Not to mention his recent grim pronouncement that we are facing the worst economic crisis of a century, but are a tad too thick to realise it.
I wanted to revisit what Brian Cowen was capable of producing when he was happy and proud. It is sad how much it reads like something from another era. Scarcely a shadow of the global credit crunch or international recession hangs over it. He does mention "an-chuid cainte faoi drochstaid eacnamaíochta na tíre seo" (loosely translated as a lot of talk about the dire economic state of the country) but only to remind us how our lives have improved.
Some parts of the speech are painful to read after the Budget - for example, when he talks about the "particular charge to represent the interests of the young". He talked about the need to restore the importance of the common good, rather than narrow sectional interests. He quoted Lemass: "All national progress depends on an upsurge of patriotism among the people."
While Brian Cowen will never appear in any "greatest speeches of all time" collection, he meant what he said. Sadly, he retreated into politspeak and managerialism at the first sign of difficulty.
I defy anyone to deny the hair on the back of their necks stood up when Barack Obama spoke about Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106-year-old African-American who proudly cast her vote for him in Atlanta, Georgia. It was as if we suddenly saw the momentous events of a century with startling freshness, because he enabled us to see through her eyes. God help us, if the lady had lived in Ireland, she probably would have come to prominence roaring at the hapless Minister in Westland Row church because she had been robbed of her medical card.
If it is true that a successful election marks the end of the honeymoon for all politicians, is that glorious acceptance speech of Obama's fated to be the high point from which everything declines? On one level, it is absolutely true that Obama is doomed to disappoint. He has declared he wishes to be a president for those who did not vote for him. However, democracy merely gives a mandate to govern with the consent of the minority. It does not guarantee the minority will feel that their viewpoint is being adequately represented.
Let us leave aside those who have filled the internet in recent months with every possible smear, from the wearisome claim that he is a closet Muslim to the idea that Bill Ayers was the ghostwriter of both of his books.
As his speech recognised, some of his decisions will upset not only those who have opposed him from the start, but inevitably, many of his most ardent supporters. There is another level, though, at which he can continue to inspire. During his campaign, he tapped into a very powerful human need - the need for hope. He allows them to dream that a better way is possible. Ironically in that regard, among past presidents, he may be closest to Reagan, although their policies are poles apart. The kind of optimism he engenders is very close to Reagan's Morning in Americaadvertising campaign.
Europeans could not understand Reagan's appeal. Obama can. In The Audacity of Hope, Obama acknowledges that Reagan "spoke to America's longing for order, our need to believe that we are not simply subject to blind, impersonal forces but that we can shape our individual and collective destinies, so long as we rediscover the traditional values of hard work, patriotism, personal responsibility, and faith". Of course, he also states that many of Reagan's policies were simplistic and destructive.
Obama is a very different man to Reagan, but it appears typical of the president-elect that he can "give the old guy his due, if not my vote". Obama is intellectually curious, self-questioning and, at his best, capable of seeing both sides of an issue. Take the contentious issue of abortion. His election will appal many who feel the right to life is the most basic of human rights, and that a politician who cannot understand that is fundamentally flawed.
However, during his campaign, and in his writings, he has pledged to take seriously the need to reduce the numbers of abortions. If he can keep to that promise, he will disappoint the more hardline abortion advocates, but they are far fewer than those who reluctantly see abortion as the lesser of evils, and fewer again than those who see it as no kind of solution at all.
Obama is essentially untested and untried. As yet, it is not clear whether the radiant charisma is matched by substance. Yet, if he is bright enough to surround himself with more experienced people, and his campaign would seem to indicate that he is, he can avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls. His greatest challenge will be to use his formidable communication skills to persuade Americans of the need for unpalatable economic decisions, for personal and communal sacrifice, and all the while enabling people to believe it will be ultimately worthwhile. In short, his greatest challenge will be to keep hope alive.
In Ireland, there are very few politicians who even think in terms of vision and inspiration. We specialise instead in a kind of self-protective cynicism. We are the poorer for it, and particularly in challenging times. Obama's willingness to appeal to that which is best in people leaves him vulnerable, but also leaves him potentially open to greatness.
Only time will tell whether he will walk this tightrope with grace, or fail in a spectacular fashion to live up to his early potential.