What lies in wait for the first black president of the
United States of America?
The standing of the United States in the eyes of foreigners,
so badly battered by eight years of George W. Bush, will soar
as soon as Obama takes office.
MY favourite rumour about United States president-elect
Barack Obama's Cabinet is that he will create the post of
secretary of the environment and offer it to Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
Of course, it's unlikely Mr Schwarzenegger would take the
offer, because being governor of California is a much more
satisfying job.
But Mr Obama will need a couple of Republicans in his Cabinet
and Arnie is serious about the environment.
Stranger things have happened.
I know, Mr Obama won't officially be president-elect until
today so I shouldn't put it like that yet, but it really is
over.
The media have to keep it looking like a real race right down
to the finish line, but you know and I know that Mr Obama is
going to win, possibly by a landslide.
With both presidential candidates essentially running against
George W. Bush, the one who wasn't a Republican started with
a huge built-in advantage, and then the financial crisis and
recession sealed John McCain's fate.
So now it's time to consider what Mr Obama will do with his
power - and even how much power he will really have, given
that his spending options will be severely constrained by
that same recession.
It helps that the Democrats will have firm control of both
houses of Congress, of course, but Mr Obama will benefit even
more from the fact he is probably going to enjoy one of the
longest honeymoons in presidential history.
Americans, including most of those who didn't vote for him,
are going to be immensely pleased with themselves for having
elected an African-American as president.
It won't transform race relations at every level and it
certainly won't lift all African-Americans into the middle
class, but it will be seen as erasing the deepest stain on
American history, the legacy of slavery.
Most Americans have been uncomfortable about that for a long
time and they will make Mr Obama a symbol of that cleansing
even though he never set himself up as such.
This will serve him well when he has to do politically
unpopular things.
