THE BRIDGE: Second Half

I have just finished this fascinating biography and once again, I must stress what a unique, improbable, almost impossible journey its been for Barack Obama. No one would have believed it was possible five years ago, no one would have predicted it, so that one must ultimately say that the Gods smiled on Obama, which is true of any major event of this proportion. Had he been born any other time, ran any other time, this would not have happened. But a combination of various circumstances, from the disgust with Bush, to the rise of Obama with his emphasis on change, his non threatening blackness, so different from other black leaders, all add up to success. If, for instance, Rev. Wright had been a story a few weeks, even months earlier, he would not have won the primary over Hilary, perhaps not even been a viable candidate if it had been very early. One of the regrets of the Clinton campaign is that they did not dig deep enough in to Rev. Wright; had they, they would have used it to disparage Obama, perhaps turning white America away from him to her. That being said, Barack emerges as a tremendously talented politician, able to run the tight rope wire between being black as well as white, gaining the confidence and respect of both groups, by modulating his positions, always being careful to include whites when talking about taking care of the poor. The more vocal Blacks disliked him for being so moderate; they wanted him to come out for reparations, for black victimhood, yet if he had done so, he would have alienated the whites. So, there was black disappointment, but mostly among the more active Blacks, not the more common black, who looked at Obama with hope and gratitude, for what he stood for, what he meant to the long line of black leaders who paved the way for something like his election. The book goes fairly quickly through the primaries and the election itself, ending at the inauguration, where Barack most make his first important decision, whether to fear a bombing at the inauguration. It tested his mettle, and he decided to go ahead, that it was what a leader most do. Overall, I have great respect for him, but it's clear that getting elected and governing as President are two very different things. Dealing with Republicans is different from Harvard Law,with other conservatives. If he is to be criticized for anything, it might be his belief he could work with the Republicans, that he could convinced them, like he did the Harvard Review, to compromise. As a result, he ends up not getting what he wanted, what he might have been able to get had if taken advantage of the majority in both Houses. Here going with your best instincts may have been a mistake. Still, there's much to admire, much history to come, and my guess is he will be one of the great Presidents, if he gets a second term, which at this point, is questionable.