Barack Obama shakes hands with supporters in Nairobi during a 2006 visit to the memorial for the 248 people killed in the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in the city. - File photos
The US Presidential campaign ended last Tuesday with a resounding victory for the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama.
It was an interesting and riveting campaign. For a brief while, McCain seemed to be the one on his way to the White House until the American money tree was cut down by men who chipped the bark, then slashed the trunk and the heart and retired, taking with them the branches, the stems, the leaves and the fruit. Even the skin and the seeds.
The campaign saw many parallels between the Obama and the Democratic Party's campaign and the Michael Manley and the PNP's campaign of 1972.
political programme
To begin, there was the Obama campaign theme of 'Change' which was the underlay of the PNP's 1972 political programme. There was also the promise of hope for better days to come in the USA which harks back to the 'Better Must Come' hope that the PNP trumpeted.
In addition, there has been the call by Obama to college students to take advantage of financial aid he will introduce if there was a commitment by these students to give voluntary help in community welfare and other programmes, similar to the National Youth Service which was a give-back by Jamaican youths for the free tuition they enjoyed during the 1970s.
Another of Obama's campaign announcements was that of alternative energy programmes to enable the USA to be less dependent on Middle East oil. Electric cars will be manufactured in the USA. Coal, which is in abundance in that country, will be used to generate electricity. So, too, will be solar power, wind turbines and other sources of power. Surprisingly, no mention has been made of the use of waterfalls to generate hydroelectric power.
Except for coal, these sources of electric power were investigated in the early years of the Manley regime, including the use of peat in Westmoreland's swamps.
There is also a parallel between the Manley and Obama policies where the trade union movement is concerned. Obama supports the desire of trade unions to have employers recognising unions once a majority of employees sign cards expressing support. Sounds familiar?
Obama has also announced he will be seeking to hold discussions with the leaders of the governments of North Korea, Venezuela, Iran and other countries who are not friends of the USA, an intention which has already been criticised by the Republican Party. This position is reminiscent of the decision by the Manley Government to establish diplomatic and trade relations with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and other communist and socialist countries. Compounding this heresy was the decision to make the kareba and shirt jacks, symbols of the international left-wing leadership, socially and officially acceptable.
There has also been Obama's tall and slim athletic frame, a handsome face and the charm of a smile which had also wooed the female following of Michael Manley.
Now one of the errors made by Manley was that he was in too much of a hurry to pursue the policy of change. Almost every month a new programme was announced. There was the National Literacy Programme, Project Land Lease, Home Guards, Special Employment Programme, Maternity Leave with Pay, Community Enterprise Orga-nisations, and others.
Not only that, but his supporters even at the leadership level, were constantly trying to outdo each other to carry out change. There was, for example, the proposal to change the name of King's House, the official residence of the governor general, to something more appropriate such as state house. Another was the decision to change the name of the Jamaica Information Service to the agency for public education. This was abandoned when it was pointed out that when initialised it became 'APE' which would given endless laughlines to the pantomime and satirical revue 'Eight O'clock Jamaica Time'. Consequently, there was the subsequent name change to Agency for Public Information.
The then prime minister, Michael Manley seen arriving at Gordon House for the opening of Parliament in April 1973.
arbitrary measurement
Another error was the blurring of the lines between politics and government. One such was the attempt to invite Tanzanian President Julius Nyrere to address a conference of the People's National Party during his state visit to Jamaica.
These then are some of the pitfalls which President Obama must avoid during his administration.
He must not allow himself to be ruled by the arbitrary measurement of successes in his first 100 days. There is a Jamaican expression: "Take time, make haste; make haste, buck you toe." One of the assumptions made by persons who are outside government administration is that change is easy. Just shake it up. Power gives them authority to issue an order, and pronto it is done. Not so. Change should only be effected after serious analysis and study to examine its implications. And an important element in this analysis is the inclusion of persons involved in the study who understand human reaction to change.
He must also not announce programmes, one after the other, as if he is engaged in playing leapfrog. He must give the people time to absorb each programme and feel its effect. Give himself time to deal with unexpected problems.
Announcements of each programme must be carefully written to avoid ambiguity. In these days of the email and instant communication, these announcements should be 'red-flagged' and sent to the leadership of the Democratic Party and to every agency of government before it is released to the news media. Give them time to read these announcements and seek clarification within a specific time before they are made public.
This week, I heard a comment which sums up the promise waved at the world by this man. I have to paraphrase it:
Rosa Parks sat on the bus which led to Martin Luther King Jr's march. That march has led to Obama's run for the office of president, and this has given the world the dream of flying.
Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.