Yes he can!

ALMOST 370 years after the first African slaves reached the American shores, an African-American has been elected the 44th president of the United States.

It comes as the culmination of history set in motion after the English captured the Pequot Indians and shipped them to Bermuda in exchange for the African bondsmen who were sent to Massachusetts.

In that context, the victory of Barack H. Obama is more significant than the victory of one man or a single political party. It turns a new page in American history. It marks a new beginning for the human race.

It may sound hyperbolic, but the newly elected US president is a one-man melting pot, a convergence of cultures, a confluence of races and religions. Son of a Kenyan Muslim father and a white Christian mother, one who was registered as a Muslim and studied the Koran as a boy in a madrasa in Indonesia, where his mother was married a second time to another Muslim man. Obama embraced Christianity when he returned to the United States with his mother after her divorce.

Thus, the Harvard-educated Obama was born and raised on critical junctures and grew up to shine with many splendours. He is an African to the Africans, a one-time Muslim to the Muslims, a Christian to the devout Christians, a beacon of hope to the minorities in America, and a man-of-the-hour to the rest of the country.

But Barrack Obama is more than a mandate for political change. He is a mandate of destiny, the instrument of force larger than politics, shaped by the events of the last few years. The terrorist attack of 9/11, heightened security in the United States and rest of the world, escalating extremism in Islamic countries, invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the nuclear tension with North Korea and Iran, and, last of all, the massive financial upheavals which have lately shaken the world.

Obama is expected to be more than a US president. He is expected to be a human face to unbridled capitalism, a sobering effect on the American bullyism, and a symbol of deliverance from the dread of terrorism and economic mess.

Will Obama be able to deliver what is expected of him? When the euphoria of victory subsides, he is going to face this reality check. No doubt he has already earned his place in history, taking the struggle of African Americans to a respectable height.

No doubt he has elevated the African-American cause in the long and overbearing tradition of such luminaries as Benjamin Banneker, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King. No doubt he has brought that cause from the sideline to the midfield of American idealism.

But how is he going to take it to the next level? How is he going to transform himself from a successful African- American politician into a responsible leader of whole of the United States, and, for that matter, the free world? It's likely that Obama is going to be guided by a worldview from a wider angle.

The blend of two races and two religions, his experience of growing up without a father, then living in another country early in life in the house of a stepfather, his Ivy League education, all of which broadened his horizon to become tolerant, liberal and enlightened compared to other US presidents.

This unique position could break or make Obama's presidency in the coming days. His stay in power could be marred by the uphill struggle of being a black president in a white majority country. He will remain under the hawkish eyes of conservative Americans, who will spare no chance to undermine his presidency every step of the way.

He is likely to face challenges from the military-industrial complex in his decision to withdraw the US soldiers from Iraq. The handling of the economy, needless to say, is going to be a daunting task. He will remain a suspect for being lenient towards the Muslims because of his middle name. Obama might overkill to quell that suspicion, and prove his intransigence by launching an attack on Pakistan, for example. Not to say, he will have to brave the threat of assassination hanging over him like the sword of Damocles.

It's also likely, and that has been the wellspring of support for Obama around the world, that he could be a breath of fresh air in the post-9/11 world. He could bring a new perspective to the world order and redefine the American leadership in a new context, rescuing it from the clutches of the neoconservatives who entered the White House eight years ago. Obama should be able to build bridges between religions and races, review US intervention in foreign countries, and restore the trust in the American leadership.

Which way his presidency will go remains to be seen. But, no matter what, Obama's victory is a welcome change. It has the hope of building the confidence that was frittered away under George Bush's two-term presidency. It has the hope of putting the lid back on the Pandora's box, giving peace a real chance in the strife-torn countries.

Above all, Obama's win is the sign of healing. It shows that America has finally overcome the hurdle of racial bitterness. From slavery to segregation to affirmative action and, finally, election to the highest office of the country; it's a positive signal that the present generation of Americans may have buried the racial hatchet. In the humdrum of political wins and losses, that one thing is the real hero of this election.

One triumphant step for Obama has been a transformational leap for mankind. It's a victory of history, shaped by many centuries. Once, the blacks weren't allowed to eat with the whites in the same restaurant. Once, they weren't allowed to drink water from the same fountain. Twist of irony, a black man is going to occupy the "White" House. History has made Obama. It's his chance to make history. DS