Obama era: Are we expecting too much

"One of the rare countries that will be sorry to see George Bush leave is Albania, "where he is considered a hero", the Independent writes."

Sad. That makes it very easy to write a comment many Albanians would consider offensive. Even if it would tell the truth. :(

I don't think Bush is more of a 'hero' than any other US president (for albanians).

In Kosovo and Albania all US presidents are popular, with Clinton and Bush standing out both because more recent and their invlovment in the Kosovo conflict.

Jan 20th will be one of the most important dates of 2009 for the world. It will mark a change in US policy on many fronts, however it will also reemphasize the commitment the US has made to Kosovo's independence and our support for its success.

It is true that we all have such incredibly high hopes and expectations for our beloved obama, impossibly high. after 8 years of bush/cheney and so many disasters that they brought about or that came about under his regime, it is utterly understandable how we feel, both inside and outside the US. i pray for his success which will also be our global success.

and his most central message is Hope, not Hate. that basing your ideas or philosophy on racism or ethnic hate gets you nowhere, fast. i grew up with it in detroit, was surrounded by it and i don't mean subtle. and i read it on these pages every day, all of those "cute" phrases and hate words that seek to provoke and in fact are terribly provocative. as long as we continue to treat the hate and racism with a nod and a wink it will continue, and in the balkans that means really evil undertakings.

do not ever minimize the power of racism.

as for albania and bush, i mentioned that we were there right around the time that "Bushi" was visiting tirna, with the idiotic watch incident. true, bush was treated almost like kennedy in berlin (ich bin ein berliner...) but i knew even then that the adulation was actually gratitude for american support, especially involving kosovar independence. albanians are all too aware (if i may speak for them here) that europe, the EU cannot be counted on, they are utterly wishy washy, and lean one way today, the opposite tomorrow. but at least so far, under clinton and his continuing policy with bush, we have shown strong and consistent support. and they appreciate that, as do I.

thank you and Peace.

roberto/
In just barely pre-inaugural west-coast america

agree with DJ MeHighLow, Obama is fresh and smart but it's still neo-liberalism and neo-conservativism and when it comes down to foreign policy its the same thing. Maybe just a lil more diplomacy on the neo-liberal part but same results :(

"Financial crisis" and "terrorism" is all superficial. The economic meltdown is nothing new, brutal capitalism is set to fail and recharge at the expense of the people. Terrorism always existed and surley it exists even more today (neo-libs and neo-cons want it to exist, more than ever) since its a great tool used to raise fear in people in order to give up soverignty as a free individual and its all disguised in the name of democracy/national security. The States do not have multi-party elections since a super power cannot afford to be flexible with its national/foreign interests just like with Russia it cannot afford to lose strong leadership like putin and dimitry. This is a very smart strategy to achive totalitarianism same principles as in 1933 fear=less freedom only hear fear does not have a face its "terrorism" which cannot be beat so freedom is lost in exchange for fake security. I wish the american people all the best as well as the european peoples i will fight in your revolution ;)

To all who believe Obama will be an "era of change", I hate to shatter your dreams but it wont. Obama's national security team is comprised mostly of the previous Clinton administration so as far as the Balkans are concerned, more anti-Serb policy is to be expected. This is not a "change" to anyone. US will do what it can to maintain its CURRENT interests and allies. Keyword here is CURRENT, so no one should be expecting any change in US's foreign policy. That is, Serbia will still be the "enemy" and Albania, Croatia, Bosnia are "allies".

When will people realize that when you vote for a president/prime minister you are only voting for that... a person. You are not voting for a particular change but a person selling themselves to you. There is no law legally binding them to carry out their promises for that would mean the commander in chief (a.k.a the president) isn't really the commander in chief.

There is no ballot paper that has a whole list of foreign and domestic policy options for you to pick from. That would mean the ballot paper is really a ballot book and given how emo the average American is about working, hardly anyone would bother to vote. Although in my opinion this is the best system as it directly serves the interests of the people. Though it can't be implemented as the rich wont allow it -> it will get too expensive for them to manipulate it.

Obama is just another face to replace GWB and nothing more. The CEO and Board of Directors of Exxon Mobil and other major Obama campaign funding companies/sponsors/stakeholders have THE ACTUAL say on what US policy is and will be. Obama has real promises to fulfill to them as they got him into the white house. This is why democracy is such a failed system, it allows greed to run unchecked and it is the mass majority of the voters who pay the price.

If actions speak louder than words, money speaks louder than both... and then some.

DJ MeHighLow (Post #5),

Actually change has already come to the US vis-a-vis the world even before Obama was elected.

US 2008/2009 is vastly different from US 1999. The US of today is poorer and debt ridden from decades of high living on credit and throwing away money on reckless military adventures overseas.

No one in the world is so in awe of the US anymore like they perhaps were back in the 1990s. The US share of the world economy has been in decline with the rise of China, and mineral resource rich countries like Russia. There's Brazil and India on the ascent too.

I think Obama realizes this and has started a climbdown by the US. For example, his willingness to talk to the Iranians and Hamas -- Bush's head must be spinning now.

Even your idol Mrs Clinton recently talked about using "smart power" and partnership with other countries instead of brute force and might is right unlike her hubby Clinton when he was in the White House.

Jan 20th will be one of the most important dates of 2009 for the world. It will mark a change in US policy on many fronts, however it will also reemphasize the commitment the US has made to Kosovo's independence and our support for its success.

It is true that we all have such incredibly high hopes and expectations for our beloved obama, impossibly high. after 8 years of bush/cheney and so many disasters that they brought about or that came about under his regime, it is utterly understandable how we feel, both inside and outside the US. i pray for his success which will also be our global success.

and his most central message is Hope, not Hate. that basing your ideas or philosophy on racism or ethnic hate gets you nowhere, fast. i grew up with it in detroit, was surrounded by it and i don't mean subtle. and i read it on these pages every day, all of those "cute" phrases and hate words that seek to provoke and in fact are terribly provocative. as long as we continue to treat the hate and racism with a nod and a wink it will continue, and in the balkans that means really evil undertakings.

do not ever minimize the power of racism.

as for albania and bush, i mentioned that we were there right around the time that "Bushi" was visiting tirna, with the idiotic watch incident. true, bush was treated almost like kennedy in berlin (ich bin ein berliner...) but i knew even then that the adulation was actually gratitude for american support, especially involving kosovar independence. albanians are all too aware (if i may speak for them here) that europe, the EU cannot be counted on, they are utterly wishy washy, and lean one way today, the opposite tomorrow. but at least so far, under clinton and his continuing policy with bush, we have shown strong and consistent support. and they appreciate that, as do I.

thank you and Peace.

roberto/
In just barely pre-inaugural west-coast america

I don't think Bush is more of a 'hero' than any other US president (for albanians).

In Kosovo and Albania all US presidents are popular, with Clinton and Bush standing out both because more recent and their invlovment in the Kosovo conflict.

"One of the rare countries that will be sorry to see George Bush leave is Albania, "where he is considered a hero", the Independent writes."

Sad. That makes it very easy to write a comment many Albanians would consider offensive. Even if it would tell the truth. :(

To all who believe Obama will be an "era of change", I hate to shatter your dreams but it wont. Obama's national security team is comprised mostly of the previous Clinton administration so as far as the Balkans are concerned, more anti-Serb policy is to be expected. This is not a "change" to anyone. US will do what it can to maintain its CURRENT interests and allies. Keyword here is CURRENT, so no one should be expecting any change in US's foreign policy. That is, Serbia will still be the "enemy" and Albania, Croatia, Bosnia are "allies".

When will people realize that when you vote for a president/prime minister you are only voting for that... a person. You are not voting for a particular change but a person selling themselves to you. There is no law legally binding them to carry out their promises for that would mean the commander in chief (a.k.a the president) isn't really the commander in chief.

There is no ballot paper that has a whole list of foreign and domestic policy options for you to pick from. That would mean the ballot paper is really a ballot book and given how emo the average American is about working, hardly anyone would bother to vote. Although in my opinion this is the best system as it directly serves the interests of the people. Though it can't be implemented as the rich wont allow it -> it will get too expensive for them to manipulate it.

Obama is just another face to replace GWB and nothing more. The CEO and Board of Directors of Exxon Mobil and other major Obama campaign funding companies/sponsors/stakeholders have THE ACTUAL say on what US policy is and will be. Obama has real promises to fulfill to them as they got him into the white house. This is why democracy is such a failed system, it allows greed to run unchecked and it is the mass majority of the voters who pay the price.

If actions speak louder than words, money speaks louder than both... and then some.

DJ MeHighLow (Post #5),

Actually change has already come to the US vis-a-vis the world even before Obama was elected.

US 2008/2009 is vastly different from US 1999. The US of today is poorer and debt ridden from decades of high living on credit and throwing away money on reckless military adventures overseas.

No one in the world is so in awe of the US anymore like they perhaps were back in the 1990s. The US share of the world economy has been in decline with the rise of China, and mineral resource rich countries like Russia. There's Brazil and India on the ascent too.

I think Obama realizes this and has started a climbdown by the US. For example, his willingness to talk to the Iranians and Hamas -- Bush's head must be spinning now.

Even your idol Mrs Clinton recently talked about using "smart power" and partnership with other countries instead of brute force and might is right unlike her hubby Clinton when he was in the White House.

agree with DJ MeHighLow, Obama is fresh and smart but it's still neo-liberalism and neo-conservativism and when it comes down to foreign policy its the same thing. Maybe just a lil more diplomacy on the neo-liberal part but same results :(

"Financial crisis" and "terrorism" is all superficial. The economic meltdown is nothing new, brutal capitalism is set to fail and recharge at the expense of the people. Terrorism always existed and surley it exists even more today (neo-libs and neo-cons want it to exist, more than ever) since its a great tool used to raise fear in people in order to give up soverignty as a free individual and its all disguised in the name of democracy/national security. The States do not have multi-party elections since a super power cannot afford to be flexible with its national/foreign interests just like with Russia it cannot afford to lose strong leadership like putin and dimitry. This is a very smart strategy to achive totalitarianism same principles as in 1933 fear=less freedom only hear fear does not have a face its "terrorism" which cannot be beat so freedom is lost in exchange for fake security. I wish the american people all the best as well as the european peoples i will fight in your revolution ;)