Americans reelected Barack Obama last night and thus made sure that he has got another chance to work hard on his promises of four years ago. The fallen messiah has to yield now. Of course, there is again hope for change. In his second and final term he might eventually only start earning the merits the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo had falsely assumed in 2009.

Second and final terms have often freed the minds of previous American presidents possibly enabling them to do what is pertinent in a country which is on one hand so irrational in its military might and aspirations for global leadership in a fast changing world. And its disastrous infrastructure (as hurricane Sandy has shown again), growing gap between the super rich and the poor, the unemployed and not even medically insured; the evangelical fundamentalists in what is called the infamous bible belt; and sort of predator capitalism on the other.

What Obama has achieved in the previous four years was pretty much sobering. Guantanamo hasn’t been closed. The war in Afghanistan  hasn’t ended. George W. Bush’s drone war has been expanded to a number of more countries and may largely be based on an unprecedented, unconstitutional, personal presidential kill list including even American citizens. Likewise, Obama’s grotesque war on whistle-blowers, which have revealed both America’s embarrassing support for cruel dictators in particular the Middle East (which at least has sparked the Arab Awakening since 2011) and blatant war crimes in the illegal war in Iraq (while those with more pleasant news about brave acts such as the killing of Osama bin Laden) endangers freedom of press in an Orwellian manner.

Well, there was no real choice, neither in America nor in the rest of the world. One won’t even want to imagine what would happen with Mitt Romney in the White House. But can we just reboot Hope, Change, Yes he can? Well, there is already something going on in secret negotiations with Iran. And Israel’s Netanyahu won’t ever get a Green Light for bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.

7 November 2012 @ 8:13 am.

Last modified November 7, 2012