Only two days to go before we find out which candidate for the American presidential campaign will be suing the other for voter fraud. Or, more likely, Barack Obama will carried home by an historic turnout – and, I have to confess, I will be quite pleased by that result. Not because I’ve succumbed to his charm, but because anyone on the centre-right who argues that America is a force for good in the world will have their task made a lot easier by President Obama.
I’ve long regarded anti-Americanism as a belief system all in itself – and one of the most underrated and menacing forces in the world today. As Fareed Zakaria said a few years ago, it fills the void left by defunct belief systems in the post-Communist world – and it goes way beyond the snide comments at Islington dinner parties. Whether it’s simple anti-capitalism or Islamist agitation, you can see anti-Americanism at large whenever the enemies of the open society gather. Obama will deal all this a hammer blow. Good.
As the only politician in the world who can prompt mile-long queues in European cities, Obama may get a more favourable response next time he wants Europe’s help – for example, persuading his Nato allies to pull their weight in Afghanistan, which he’s repeatedly said is among his priorities. He’ll hopefully take some of the anti-American sting out of EU integration, and slow demand for this EU defence force which duplicates Nato. The EU has for years been itching to give itself a foreign policy personality and play Greece to America’s Rome. There won’t be such demand for this under President Obama.
I still have huge reservations about Obama. While I admire his tax cut campaign line, I’m alarmed by his protectionism – and share fears that his extra regulation will cost jobs. Then there’s the uncertainty. Maybe we’ll get the radical Obama who fought Hillary – or the calm, consensus-builder we’ve seen in the last few weeks. No one knows for sure. That’s why tomorrow, America will decide to take a leap in the dark.
She will land in daylight. She always does. From Wednesday, America – and everything it stands for – will be a far easier cause to sell to the world. And those who consider America as the world’s last best hope should be grateful for that.
Finally, my Republican friends have been gushing about Tony Blair for years now – they didn’t have to live with his policies. I won’t have to live with Obama’s. So it’s time for some light revenge.
Comments