His name etched in history as America's first black president, Barack Obama turned from the jubilation of victory to the sober challenge of leading a nation worried about economic crisis, two unfinished wars and global uncertainty.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep," Obama cautioned.
Young and charismatic but with little experience on the national level, Obama smashed through racial barriers and easily defeated Republican John McCain to become the first African-American destined to sit in the Oval Office, America's 44th president. He was the first Democrat to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America," Obama told a victory rally of 125,000 people jammed into Chicago's Grant Park.
In the midst of this victory euphoria, Barack Obama as the elected President of the United States on 4 November now is immediately facing three major problem. Many people see that the election of the President 2008, this time with similar situations in the past appear when President George Washington (1789-1797), Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865), and Franklin Roosevelt D (1933-1945). The next President will also face similar problems even more of the three predecessors.
Washington is the first U.S. president to the chaos after independence on 4 July 1776 because of the war with Britain. Lincoln face war, he even killed for the unity of the country. Roosevelt also inherited a big problem; namely economic depression.
A success that had been made accomplished by these three presidents because of the challenges they have also made and it makes them to have big names. President-elect 2008, Barack Obama is also experiencing the challenges of no less complicated and complex.
There are at least three main challenges that faced Barack Obama immediately in his first government. First, concerning the deep economic crisis since 1929 up to the global financial crisis now. Meanwhile, in their own country as the imbalances and the system of income, education system that produces graduates who are no longer the best in the world, the problems of health services, and environmental problems.
Second, the problem of improving the U.S. image in the international community. U.S. facing terrorism and the army is struggling to overcome confusion while security in Iraq and Afghanistan. Third, the problem of how to bring the Democratic Party to the country in a better image, including changes to realize the promise that have been made by Obama during the campaign.
With the majority seats in the Senate and in Congress, Obama will seek how to lead the U.S. more conservative than liberal, while the other parties try to satisfy the left wing from its party. He will be faced with the option to immediately resolve the problem of Iraq, and pledged to carefully do so. Professor Paul Niwa from Emerson College said, "We hope the next president do the right thing and throwing away personal political ambition. We have great hopes that the president can overcome the problem; for example, end the war in Iraq so that the budget is saved. "
Apart from the three urgent problems of its Barak Obama as President of the United States to-44, politically this is a celebration for the new American history, especially in effort to reconcile the racialism tension that occurred since the last 4 decades after the emergence of the Movement for Human Rights. Million of American people and also people around the world are hoping the new changes will be taken place immediately under Barak Obama’s presidency - change in all that essentially can bring peace and prosperity of mankind. ***b@stian
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