Posted: 2008-11-04 23:58 Who’s the Boss?  Presenter: Erika van der Merwe Guest(s): Abdul Lamin - Click here to listen to the interview Summit TV takes a look at who the next US president is going to be and what that’s going to mean at the tip of Africa Erika van der Merwe: Will it be Mr Hothead or Dr Cool? Who will be the winner of the US elections and what will be the implications for South Africa? We put the questions to Dr Abdul Lamin senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations at Wits University. Abdul, listening to the media and hearing about the votes coming in from countries from outside of the US where citizens have voted voting has been 80% to 90% in favour of Barack Obama… Dr Abdul Lamin: It’s really phenomenal. I think what we are witnessing is history in the making - there’s a lot of excitement that’s been built up before the elections and it seems from every projection so far it looks like Barack Obama will be the next president of America. However, as an analyst one is always careful not to call the race before it’s actually done - because at the end of the day the last vote counts. It looks like McCain has been counted out many times in his political career and he’s been able to come back - so as much as there’s a lot of excitement and enthusiasm that Obama is going to win, and this will be good for America - it’s not over yet. It will only be over when McCain concedes defeat - that is if Obama becomes the favourite of the American voters. Erika van der Merwe: Why has there been so much excitement and passion about this election? It’s been a very long campaign and a very expensive one I believe the most expensive… Dr Abdul Lamin: Yes, it has been the most expensive political campaign in American history in terms of the amount of money that has been raised by the candidates themselves for instance. It’s also been historic because when you look at Obama’s fund raising strength - for instance from every report we’ve got most of the money that he’s been able to raise, millions and millions of dollars have come from ordinary Americans which in itself is a message because contributing to a political cause is essentially suggesting that we share the world view he represents. I think that in analysing what is happening in America now one has to be able to put it into context of what’s happened in the world in the last eight years since George W Bush became president. Suffice it to say that America’s standing in the world has taken a serious beating because of the nature of the Bush administration’s approach to global affairs generally. George W Bush came to office and sought to promote a unilateral world view that suggested because America was the most powerful country militarily on earth it could do everything by itself without consulting others. It’s clear eight years down the road that those who have advocated a multilateral world view seem to have carried the day and Obama is a reflection of that. But if you look at it also within America itself the last eight years has been very turbulent economically for many Americans on a day-to-day basis - the global financial crisis that we talk about today has affected average Americans hugely, so as the saying always goes in elections “are you better today than you were four years ago?” It seems most Americans are saying if we are to believe the polls they are probably not better off economically than they were eight years ago. So to the extent that there’s a lot of excitement and movement towards Obama - I think one has to read it in that context. Erika van der Merwe: Abdul you’ve named those two key themes - George W Bush’s presidency started with the 9/11 crisis and then the war that’s evolved from that, it’s ended with this financial crisis - what do you think are the most important policy changes the new US president can and should make? Dr Abdul Lamin: It’s a big challenge for whomever becomes president. Again I want to underline that we don’t want to call the race yet because we don’t know who is going to win - we can only project - but assuming that Obama wins I think what he really brings to the office is a different style and approach, one that begins to change the image of America. I think nobody would question that the 9/11 attacks you allude were so catastrophic in nature that the world needed to “solidarise” and fight this scourge of terrorism as it were - however the approach that the Bush administration sought to take in fighting this so-called “War on Terror” alienated America from the rest of the world. So I think America really needs a new face - somebody who is going to be calm, who isn’t hesitant to use American power - but who is also able to recognise that there are limits to using that power, because as we see in the bog-down in Iraq and Afghanistan and the other parts of the world you may very well have the military wherewithal but it really takes more than just military power to achieve your goals and interests. So I think there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way the world views America. Secondly, the financial crisis that’s global in nature - and which affects us here in South Africa and the rest of the continent - is also hitting the American voters directly. The sub-prime mortgage crisis we have read about for the last year quite frankly has led to people losing their homes, the unemployment rate increased - so once the dust settles and the excitement is over the challenge is going to be to restore confidence in the American economy, and within the society - and that means putting in place practical measures that are designed to alleviate the suffering that people are going through right now. Quite frankly one doesn’t envy anyone who is going to take office because it’s a very difficult one. Erika van der Merwe: Extending that just briefly what do you think the implications would be for South Africa if Obama were to win? Dr Abdul Lamin: I think it will be good not just because Obama has direct African ancestry which is quite significant - I think it begins to suggest also to South Africa and the rest of Africa that indeed there is hope that if one is determined to do whatever your capabilities you’ll be able to accomplish it. I think Africa also has to look at the Obama victory and not take him for granted - because at the end of the day Obama is an American first, yes of African decent and his approach to US policy towards will obviously be different because of his direct heritage and his attachment to the continent and so on - but I think he will be very strong on issues around governance, issues around human rights protection and so on and so forth. What an Obama president would say to Africa is that indeed you have someone in the White House now who understands the dynamics of the continent so it’s really going to be up to us in Africa to take advantage of that - and do so in a way that makes Obama’s policies towards the continent more successful. www.summit.co.za Transcripts: 082 962 2772 mvr/met Comments Related to this transcript: Comment on this transcript... Name : Email : Comments :