My mother and father are probably one of the billions who slept late last night just to witness the extra-magical (and expensive in the midst of financial crisis!duh!) inaguration (should i say global inaguration?!) of Barack Obama! my parents (who use to sleep at 9 PM) were widely awake the entire inaguration rites--glued to CNN and HBO (even the movie channel was bitten by the obama fever!) as they listen to the excitement-filled speech of the first afro-american president. A man who 12 weeks ago was a mere political candidate was transformed before a vast crowd and a television audience in the hundreds of millions if not billions, into the head of state of the most powerful nation on earth. whew--if only the television sets could talk--im sure they will complain of nausea due to this phenomenal obama fever!. As I look into the charisma of obama--i cant help but understand why americans, asians and africans go "ga-ga" over this new president---not only because he looks so righteous but he does seem blessed with the poise and stature that befits a head of state. His governance theme also fits to the current situation of america and the world--that's why he probably won the hearts of the the americans and the world as well. His theme of responsibility, the notion that government cannot solve America's vast problems alone, that everyone has to pitch in, fits nicely with his insistence that he will be able to work no miracles as president; that tackling the deepening economic crisis will be the stuff of long and cooperative hard work. Many Filipinos can somehow relate to his theme---obama's governance is a ray of hope for filipinos. Like his governance--Filipinos also know that in terms of solving the numerous Philippine problems--there will be no overnight fix. Everybody has to pitch in-Obama's caution and realism only make people admire him more. Obama's paradoxes of a man who insists that he is no magician - is a ray of hope for nations of desperate state.
