With tears in my eyes I've watched US inauguration day. Tears because i saw the bated struggle of both Michelle and Barack Obama on their last day. Tears too because I saw the replacement. Terrible speech, terrible future image.
True, looking at his real visual and sustainable legacy like "big laws that changed America", Obama will go into history as an average president. The last 6 out of his 8 years struggling with a Republican dominated House and the last 2 years also with a GOP Senate was not really a climate to get any result.
By the way, looking at the "democratic value" of that, it's like the minority governments of some other countries in the world. Powerless, and nothing more than an escape from failed coalition negotiations and to avoid the thread of new elections. Added to the ancient system of the US Electoral College it's not really surprising that the "swamp" in Washington DC needs to be so powerful.
Nevertheless, with the Reps compulsive focus on eliminating Obama-care and some other smaller "Obama-measures", they ignore that since another catastrophic Bush era, the economy is thriving again, the big crisis is finally overwon, the big ugly wars are terminated and the unemployment-rate is at an almost unbeatable low. It's an ironic consequence that Trump does not need to do anything at all to come up with good USA-figures next year because all is already in place. Thanks to Obama.
Listening to Trump's speeches, press events and interviews, it seems that besides above mentioned Obama accomplishments, Trump has forgotten a few things more:
- He can sniff about Europe and "more Brexits to come" but i guess that is only because he fears to lose US leadership. As no other he should know that the US is a "united" power and they have fought for that in the past very, very hard. Twice.
- He can call Germany's Chancellor Merkel an idiot for her immigrant issues but he forgot that the US only exists thanks to immigrants. In very, very large numbers.
- He can say that China and Mexico "stole" American jobs but obviously he forgot that industrial work is either brought to low-wage countries (as long as they exist) or to robots. Simple jobs won't come back and large numbers of the more intelligent ones can only come after looooong investments in education among some other "cultural changes". Or ..... by already highly educated immigrants.
- Talking about "united" and "global", American growth always came from collaborative trade, with mutual incremental benefits. He obviously forgot too that "Buy American, hire American" only leads to isolationism.
- He might call NATO "old fashioned" but he obviously forgot that in all cases the US was supported by its NATO allies although the "big ones" were all initiated by the US: Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya. All causing the current "European immigrant problem". With ISIS in the Middle East, the US left Europe in a messy play with Russia, Syria and Turkey.
- Having said that, if a "Cold War with Russia" is really emerging again, a solitaire US will not win it this time. Trump obviously has forgotten that there are a few powers more in the world since WOII: China, Japan, India and a European Community (with or without the UK) and a few other emerging countries with or without some "nukes" too.
Europe will not let itself be pushed away and will respond predictively to the US (and the UK): "Buy European and true partners, hire European and true partners" and so will every other power do with China as the most important runner-up. If the US prioritizes itself in all cases, I can only wish the American people a lot of strength.
Meanwhile, make yourself great again :)