Just tell me WHY Obama

[Buzz]

Living here in the Caribbean, one of the wonderful things is that by the very nature of existence in this part of the world, one is forced in business to interact with people from all corners of the globe. Political discussions abound because of the impact that world politics and economics have on decisions regarding (mostly) foreign investment in our relatively tiny economy.

I will try to summarize the basic reasons for the appeal that Obama has to people around the world as well as a surprising (compared to the majority of my Club Cobra family of friends) number of Americans that I meet. Not necessarily my convictions, but this is what I see:

First, let me establish that John McCain is the embodiment of "Presidential Material". He looks and sounds the part and he personifies the concept of speaking softly while carrying a big stick. He has a record of military heroism and a long resume of political service to his country. In the traditional lineage of American Presidents, McCain has the correct DNA - he's made of the right stuff and what he represents comforts those who are sick of compromising with enemies and want to return to a focus on America being America and let the others sort their problems out.

Obama is almost the complete opposite. He does not look the part of a US president. He was not forged into steel in the inferno of war. He is not a cookie-cut, well aged vintage product off the assembly line of the venerable old Washington political machine.

Therin lies his appeal. People are looking for a leader who will abandon the schizophrenia of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The same old attitudes, philosophies, paradigms and modi operandi that seemed to work ok in the past are seen now as contributors to the decline of America's wealth, power and status as leader of the international community.

To many, the world is a recently and profoundly changed place, and the idea of political and cultural isolationism has gone the way of the unicorn. A prosperous nation needs to operate successfully within the world economy and clinging to the concept of isolationism is akin to living in a mansion in the middle of a teeming ghetto. Sipping champagne behind closed gates while the fortune stashed in your mattress dwindles, property values plummet and the millions of outsiders beyond your fence forge relationships and alliances around the consumption, control and distribution of food and natural resources.

The rest of the world is no longer as far away as the time it takes for a fleet of warships to sail the width of an ocean. The distance has been reduced to nanoseconds by the internet and minutes by the proliferation of ballistic missiles in the hands of immature and unsophisticated regimes.

Doing things the way they've always been done no longer works in this different world. The day of the mighty dinosaur has been replaced by a time when success depends less on sheer size and brute strength, and more on the ability adapt effectively to change, interact wisely with others and to deal intelligently with conflict.

Rightfully or not, this is what people see in Obama. A younger, fresher approach with ideals and an open mind - unafraid of criticism for being different and untainted by years and years of cycling through the washer and dryer of traditional political conformity.

The whole "messiah" thing surrounding Obama has less to do with his personal vision of his own greatness and more to do with the reality that many, understanding fully the utopian risks of following a leader based on intangible things like hope and faith, are willing to support him. Is it sensible? No, but then again, neither is schizophrenia.

No offense intended to anyone - take it for what it is.