From: Joseph Lister Nyaringo

President Barrack Obama faces tough challenges than most American Presidents in recent history despite working hard to address the impediments he inherited from his Predecessor, President W. George Bush.

He is hassling to resuscitate America’s dwindling economy through job creation, restructuring the Country’s financial system and to rebuild the broken diplomatic relations that went sour during Bush’s Presidency, a Republican.

It’s ironical that the party that was in power before Obama took over inherited a budget surplus from former President Clinton, a democrat but messed up the economy. They now expect Obama to fix things overnight even after he forewarned them before taking office of tough times a head especially the economic downtrend and job creation for many unemployed Americans.

Obama critics must know that to lead a country of more than 300 million people is not easy. In fact, even if John McCain had won, it would have taken him time to turn things around especially the economy.

In the international scene, Obama has tried to thaw the animosity towards America from the Arab World reassuring them that the US is not their enemy; which is a great stride for reconciliation and global peace.

To the contrary, this gesture has made the Republicans brand Obama as a sympathizer to Islam; a religion they link with terrorism. In fact, John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate, Sara Palin have used placards in their Tea party rallies with inscriptions that brands Obama as a terrorist, a fascist, a racist, an a Adolf Hitler and an anti-Christ. This is the same woman who would not even differentiate between South Africa as a Country and Africa as a Continent in the 2008 Presidential elections.

How do you brand a legitimately and genuinely elected US President a dictator and still exercise freedom of assembly and speech in rallies, TV stations and on the internet? These Republicans need to wise up. I wish they knew what goes on in Zimbabwe and Iran.

The US President’s diplomatic approach has angered many evangelical Right wing Christian leaders; notably, Pastor John Haggee of John Haggee Ministries of Texas, whose sermons have persistently portrayed Obama, as not doing enough to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. This is a clear demonstration that if Obama was a Republican, they would advise him to invade Iran, the way they did to Bush before America invaded Iraq.

Pastor Haggee and Pat Robert of Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) amongst others accuse Obama for socialising America; an ideology they link with Satanism. Truly, if signing a medical bill to benefit millions of uninsured Americans is communism (socialism), and also extending unemployment insurance to benefit the Americans out of job is satanic, then these Church leaders do not know the true meaning of being “Christ like.”

We of the Kenyan descent living in America cringe with disgust on seeing how Obama’s presidency has ignited racist remarks coming from Christian Preachers whose sermons are watched on TV by Kenyan Christians at home. Instead of challenging him on policy matters, they’re using racial slurs, an indication that the question of racism in America is far from over.

Recently, a former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is mulling a bid to run for President in 2012, said that Obama’s animosity toward the West is influenced by his forefather’s resistance against the British rule in Kenya. What type of a President Mr. Gingrich will be if he doesn’t get it that like Kenya, the US was once a British colony and that Obama is an American, born in the West despite his mixed race?

How gullible is the Republican Party leadership that even after Obama’s two years in the Oval Office, they are still pressing him to produce his birth certificate in order to be convinced that he is an American and not a Kenyan? It’s only in America where you have the freedom to insult a sitting president with unprintable epithets without repercussions.

I believe that, those who elected Obama were not ignorant to vote for a Kenyan or some one whose origin they didn’t know in the 2008 Presidential elections. They will exercise the same right to either vote him out or for a second term in 2012. And therefore, questioning his citizenship is not only an insult to those who came from diverse political backgrounds- republicans, independents and democrats and overwhelmingly voted for him, but also recipe to dent America’s respect and image abroad.

The role of a political opposition in a democracy is to keep the government on its toes with fairness without malice and prejudice while sticking to policies and issues that benefit the ruled. The Republicans are racists and they want to ensure that the Obama Presidency is a disaster so that in future, a person of colour will not be entrusted with the US Presidency.

The Republicans have stooped to low and if they think by trying to dent the image of a legitimately elected President because of his colour will catapult them to take the White House in 2012, they are blinding themselves. In fact, their behaviour towards Obama has set a very grim picture to the US which is seen globally as the epitome of democracy, justice and freedom.

Finally, America is better off with President Obama than a Republican. His management of the US affairs is in tandem with the American constitution which has been exercised by his predecessors.

Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey, USA