America changes…

Barack Obama’s re-election reflects a profound change within American society and the internal structure of the world’s superpower. His is a country in deep economic crisis with unemployment rate comprising more than eight percent of the labour force. Rarely does the US re-elect a president with an unemployment rate this high. This happened once before in the past but even former President George Bush Sr. in 1992 failed to get another re-election with a failed economy like that. America changed internally. Obama could change. But, that is no longer the issue. Democratic candidate Mitt Romney lost the elections despite receiving 59 percent of white voters. In the past, this percentage was more than enough to win any presidential election, as white make up 72 percent of the population. What’s changed this time around is the presence of new forces beginning to vote in the elections. American Jews began to play a dominant role in the in the elections in swing states. Obama managed to secure votes from black and Spanish women and youth. A new power emerged within America. The majority of black people in the US voted. 93 percent of black people in the US voted for Obama. While, 71 percent Spanish speaking people voted and 73 percent of Asians voted for Obama. In terms of women voters in the US, 55 percent voted in his favour. Who cannot be ignored is the percentage of Jews who voted in favour of the democratic candidate. It was about 70 percent. This means that the majority of American Jews are liberals who do not want more wars. There is no doubt that Benjamin Netanyahu, who has a personal problem with Obama, is considering how to repair relations with the White House. The majority of eligible voters chose to give Obama another chance because he established a foreign policy they respected. Spanish speaking voters became a force to be reckoned with. We also cannot ignore the fact that Obama took a much more humane approach to illegal immigrants in the US. Americans are betting that Obama will save them from the nightmare that is Afghanistan the way he saved them from Iraq, albeit at the expense of the Iraqi. He won’t intervene militarily in Syria until the regime falls and he watches as the Syrians are killed. Why would that be a problem for the American voter? Is it an improvement if the new America prefers to procastinate in dealing with the problems of the region? Syria, Yemen and Pakistan… Anyone who seeks to understand the old or new American administration needs to always remember what Obama said in his victory speech: “Freedom from dependence on imported oil.” This may mean giving the US priority and that would seem to be America’s 2012 ambition. They must bear in mind that if they don’t go to the Middle East, the Middle East will come to them. There have been many who tried to distance themselves from the problems of the Middle East. But there it comes again to Washington DC without any warnings or prior appointments. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.