As President Barack Obama begins his second term, he has two ways ahead of him in the next four years. He may become the architect of a recovery from the gloom at home and abroad. Alternatively, the rot in the US may worsen. One may wonder if a black President in the Oval Room has changed American politics. Or will he be associated with a string of unfulfilled promises? Obama’s first term was marked by efforts to undo the damage that his predecessor George Bush had done. Iraq was a fiasco and the US economy was in shambles. Obama had succeeded in his first term in stabilizing the economy and pushing forward the healthcare plan. But the economy is still saddled with a huge debt and it will take a lot of effort to tackle it.
In foreign affairs Obama’s main headache will be a nuclear Iran. The US can offer it security guarantees and integration into global trade regimes and persuade it to abandon nuclear designs. A lot of fledgling Arab democracies have come into the world order and the US has to guide them. Israel and Palestine will have to choose the road to peace. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, the US will not budge from its decision to quit by 2014. Pakistan has to be rescued from instability. What is more important is that the thorns in the US-China relationship have to be removed. Obama should sign an environment pact with Beijing to fight global warming. Trust between the two countries should increase. The two countries are the world’s biggest polluters and unlisted in any climate change pact. They are also the world’s greatest innovators and manufacturers. The US and China can play a big role in saving the planet.