The U.S. has elected a new president. On January 20, 2009, Barack Hussein Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. Along with the dramatic turn in the economic situation, this marks a definite turning point in the history of the country and of the world. On the streets across the U.S., you can feel a collective sigh of relief. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of people are on the streets of New York, Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco, many of them dancing and even crying with joy. Young people drive by or ride their bikes through the streets yelling "Obama!" at passersby. Some have likened the celebration to New Year's Eve, and people's faces - especially young people and African-Americans - are glowing. These scenes have been repeated around the world, as frustration against Bush's policies is unleashed. The world has not been a very pleasant place for the last 8 years.
Obama says he offers "a new kind of politics." This inspired record turnouts in many states and five-hour lines at some polling stations. A spirit of hope and history filled the air throughout the day. It is indeed a historic event. For the first time, an African-American has been elected president of the most powerful nation on the planet. However, the election of a Black president does not mean that racism has been eliminated. Far from it. Racism is a product of the capitalist system and will continue as long as the system continues.
But Obama's victory does show that Americans are so fed up with Bush and co.'s policies, that even those with racist prejudices would rather vote for a "Black man" than a Republican. For Marxists, it's not the color of the President's skin that determines our attitude. What matters are the class interests a candidate represents. Illusions in Obama are high at the moment, but it's no accident that he raised far more corporate money than John McCain or that world stock markets have risen on news of his victory. He is Big Businesses' choice to get them through the tough times ahead. Nonetheless, within the confines of the current U.S. electoral setup, his decisive victory represents a significant and healthy shift to the left.
Exit polls taken during election night offer a snapshot of the current mood in America: 37 percent said "change" was the number one issue on their minds. 79 percent think the country is going in the wrong direction. 68 percent of new voters, 66 percent of Latinos, and 90 percent of African-Americans voted for Obama. People who had previously never had any interest in politics suddenly felt they had something worth voting and hitting the streets for. Such was the support and enthusiasm he inspired on the campaign trail, that had Obama won the popular vote, yet lost the electoral vote, and therefore the election itself, there would have undoubtedly been unrest on the streets.
Film maker Michael Moore calls it the end of 28 years of rule by Republicans and Democrats who act like Republicans. At long last! The Bush years of war, terrorism, Enron, Katrina, domestic spying, mass layoffs and off shoring, raids and deportations of immigrant workers, attacks on the unions and declining living conditions are over! Or are they?
As we have explained time and again, on all fundamentals, Obama represents the same interests as Bush and McCain. The only real difference is greater his charm, eloquence and intellect. A cunning politician who knows full well whose interests he has been elected to defend, he will, like Bill Clinton before him, be used to carry out attacks on the working class that even the Bushes couldn't get away with - albeit with a warm smile on his face and a charming twinkle in his eye. Obama was above all elected on the basis of what people want to see in him, not what he really represents. "Hope" and "change" are powerful words in these times of turmoil and uncertainty. But sooner rather than later, Obama's true colors will be revealed. He may be riding high for the moment, and millions of people are elated, but we can predict that in the not-too-distant future, increas