Saturday, November 08, 2008

Democracy and Barack Obama

Congratulations to Mr Obama on his great win in the USA elections
this week for a new president. Obama was not the only winner. Democracy
scored big win too by that result illustrating moving from from the Kenyan bush in Africa to the White House in USA is not just a dream.

Yet with globalisation having affected most nations of the world I doubt that
the leader of any single nation these days can do much alone to
change current dire and widespread economic plight. The concept of the "Common Good" which has for years been a tenet of Catholic social teaching has essentially
had to be prayed in aid by many governments even those committed to capitalism,
to justify their £bns funding of commercial banks.

Mrs Thatcher as long ago as 1979 became the first woman elected representative
to become national leader of a major Western democracy when she became UK Prime Minister. Almost 30 years later her 'reign' still evokes
much debate along with equal measures of praise and denigration.
Barack Obama's political style seems likely to be more akin to Tony Blair's
than Mrs Thatcher's but either way he deserves every success as President.

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