“On the day that Obama seized the Democratic nomination (Tuesday, June 3), O Globo began telling readers to prepare for a spectacular political campaign. Here, however, is a note of caution. Don’t expect a duel between the young guy and the villain in the style of the best American Western. The choice between Obama and McCain is not between right and left, between good and evil, between progress and backwardness, or between liberal and conservative. It is a formidable display from a country that has seen some of its best traditions – amongst them tolerance, freedom of the individual and opportunity for all – slaughtered by almost a decade of Bushism. Even McCain recognizes that.”
By William Waack
Translated By Brandi Miller
June 5, 2009
Brazil – O Globo – Original Article (Portuguese)
Barack Obama could seem young to be a candidate for the presidency of the United States, but for someone who wrote an autobiography at the age of 33 – as he did – he seems mature enough. Dreams of my Father is a very expressive document from someone who spent the majority of his adolescence trying to understand who he is, and at 27, what it means to be ready for life. And, as brilliantly defined by The New York Times, he remains a man that is “capable of inspiring devotion in supporters and is inscrutable to critics .”
Never underestimate Obama, as Hillary Clinton did, and never underestimate his Republican adversary, John McCain, a war hero who is tougher, stronger, more loyal and more courageous than any character from an epic film. Obama and McCain are living examples of important political lessons, especially the ability to survive and cling to a perspective. But in the United States today, perhaps the life story of Obama will be better-able to convince voters.
Obama is considered a political phenom, American sociologists say, especially given the transformations that American society is going through. These are profound changes brought about by immigrants and Blacks, and in the figure of Obama, some argue, is focused the notion of some type of “justice.” This is clearly not a characterization that can be safely applied to election forecasts. But in the broadest sense, it is a political characterization.
Obama’s inscrutableness, his critics note, is knowing exactly what he wants. Some of the political and psychological profiles of Obama (like the excellent The Conciliator, from Larissa MacFarquhar published in the New Yorker on May 7, 2007 ) show a personality that almost always abandons anger and protest in favor of conciliation and harmony. But what does that mean when one thinks about Iraq? Or into what proposals when thinking about the Doha Round [World Trade Talks ?] Or about immigration?
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