kui
JF-Expert Member
- Mar 2, 2009
- 6,467
- 6,500
President Obama jabbed at the power structures of Africa on Tuesday by calling for long-entrenched leaders to step down, using off-the-cuff remarks about his own political standing and his stature as the first American president with African roots to try to reshape the continent's politics.
"I actually think I'm a pretty good president," Mr. Obama told diplomats from across Africa, departing from his prepared text to present himself as a model for giving up power when term limits are reached. "I think if I ran, I could win."
"There's a lot that I'd like to do to keep America moving," he added.
"But the law is the law and no person is above the law, not even the president."
Whether Mr. Obama could actually win another term may provide fodder for political debate at home. He has appeared energized by a string of recent successes, including congressional passage of trade authority, aSupreme Court ruling upholding his health care plan, a nuclear deal with Iraq and the reopening of diplomatic relations with Cuba. Still, he faces deep opposition among many Americans who are critical of his economic and foreign policies.
But as he wrapped up what may be his final trip to Africa while in office, Mr. Obama used his own tenure to take on one of the continent's most enduring obstacles to democratic progress: its history of one-man rule by presidents and potentates who enrich themselves and cling to power for years, if not decades, in calcified regimes.
"Nobody should be president for life," he declared in a speech at theAfrican Union, an umbrella organization. "Your country is better off if you have new blood and new ideas. I'm still a pretty young man, but I know that somebody with new energy and new insights will be good for my country. It will be good for yours, too, in some cases."....
Just this month, the president of Burundi pushed ahead with elections that gave him a third term in office. In doing so, he threw his nation into upheaval in a move widely regarded as violating the country's Constitution and a peace agreement that ended a devastating civil war there.
In Rwanda, lawmakers voted this month to support a constitutional change allowing President Paul Kagame a third term..
Indeed, about half of the more than 50 countries in the African Union have presidents, prime ministers or monarchs who have been in power longer than Mr. Obama, some of them for decades. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled Equatorial Guinea since 1979. Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe since 1980. Paul Biya has governed Cameroon since 1982.
Yoweri Museveni has governed Uganda since 1986. Omar Hassan al-Bashir has governed Sudan since 1989.On the other hand, there have been transformative moments lately. In Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation, Africans celebrated in the spring when the party that had governed since the end of military rule peacefully stepped down after losing elections, a successful transfer of power in one of the world's largest democracies.
Unable to travel to Nigeria because of security concerns, Mr. Obama decided to mark that transition by playing host to the new Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, in the Oval Office last week before departing for his trip here.
None of the long-ruling leaders Mr. Obama seemed to have in mind were on hand to hear his speech on Tuesday, but representatives of governments from around Africa attended, and it was broadcast live across the continent. The audience interrupted Mr. Obama with applause nearly 75 times, but it cheered and whooped most enthusiastically as he talked about leaders who overstay their welcome.
The crowd cheered even louder when he said that he did not understand why leaders do not step down "especially when they' ve got a lot of money," again going beyond his prepared text in a knowing reference to African officials who have accumulated great fortunes while in office, often through corruption...
Finding the right balance between advocating democracy and human rights on the one hand, and cultivating cooperation on other issues like economics and security on the other, has been a challenge for Mr. Obama no matter where he travels. He came away with a sour aftertaste following the so-called Arab Spring, when countries in the Middle East and North Africa cast off autocrats only to fail to install successful democracies..
But he carries special weight in Africa, where he is seen as a favorite son with a symbolic power no predecessor had. When Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who chairs the African Union, introduced him on Tuesday, she said, "Although we welcome you as the president of the United States, we also claim you as our own."
Mr. Obama understood that. Speaking in Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall, named for the South African freedom fighter turned president, Mr. Obama said Mr. Mandela, like George Washington, understood that leaving office and handing over control peacefully was a powerful legacy.
"Just as the African Union has condemned coups and illegitimate transfers of power, the A.U.'s authority and strong voice can also help the people of Africa ensure that their leaders abide by term limits and their constitutions," Mr. Obama said.
Understanding that some might see him as lecturing or hypocritical, Mr. Obama made a point of acknowledging American flaws. "Our American democracy is not perfect," he said. "But one thing we do is we continually re-examine to figure out how can we make our democracy better. And that's a force of strength for us, being willing to look and see honestly what we need to be doing to fulfill the promise of our founding documents."
In boasting that he could win another term if the 22nd Amendment did not forbid it, Mr. Obama mirrored comments President Bill Clinton has made in the past. But unlike Mr. Clinton, who often said he would have loved to have remained president, Mr. Obama echoed his immediate predecessor, President George W. Bush, in talking wistfully of what he looks forward to doing once he leaves office.
"I'll be honest with you," he said, "I'm looking forward to life after being president. I won't have such a big security detail all the time. It means I can go take a walk. I can spend time with my family. I can find other ways to serve. I can visit Africa more often."
Source: The New York Times.
"I actually think I'm a pretty good president," Mr. Obama told diplomats from across Africa, departing from his prepared text to present himself as a model for giving up power when term limits are reached. "I think if I ran, I could win."
"There's a lot that I'd like to do to keep America moving," he added.
"But the law is the law and no person is above the law, not even the president."
Whether Mr. Obama could actually win another term may provide fodder for political debate at home. He has appeared energized by a string of recent successes, including congressional passage of trade authority, aSupreme Court ruling upholding his health care plan, a nuclear deal with Iraq and the reopening of diplomatic relations with Cuba. Still, he faces deep opposition among many Americans who are critical of his economic and foreign policies.
But as he wrapped up what may be his final trip to Africa while in office, Mr. Obama used his own tenure to take on one of the continent's most enduring obstacles to democratic progress: its history of one-man rule by presidents and potentates who enrich themselves and cling to power for years, if not decades, in calcified regimes.
"Nobody should be president for life," he declared in a speech at theAfrican Union, an umbrella organization. "Your country is better off if you have new blood and new ideas. I'm still a pretty young man, but I know that somebody with new energy and new insights will be good for my country. It will be good for yours, too, in some cases."....
Just this month, the president of Burundi pushed ahead with elections that gave him a third term in office. In doing so, he threw his nation into upheaval in a move widely regarded as violating the country's Constitution and a peace agreement that ended a devastating civil war there.
In Rwanda, lawmakers voted this month to support a constitutional change allowing President Paul Kagame a third term..
Indeed, about half of the more than 50 countries in the African Union have presidents, prime ministers or monarchs who have been in power longer than Mr. Obama, some of them for decades. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled Equatorial Guinea since 1979. Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe since 1980. Paul Biya has governed Cameroon since 1982.
Yoweri Museveni has governed Uganda since 1986. Omar Hassan al-Bashir has governed Sudan since 1989.On the other hand, there have been transformative moments lately. In Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation, Africans celebrated in the spring when the party that had governed since the end of military rule peacefully stepped down after losing elections, a successful transfer of power in one of the world's largest democracies.
Unable to travel to Nigeria because of security concerns, Mr. Obama decided to mark that transition by playing host to the new Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, in the Oval Office last week before departing for his trip here.
None of the long-ruling leaders Mr. Obama seemed to have in mind were on hand to hear his speech on Tuesday, but representatives of governments from around Africa attended, and it was broadcast live across the continent. The audience interrupted Mr. Obama with applause nearly 75 times, but it cheered and whooped most enthusiastically as he talked about leaders who overstay their welcome.
The crowd cheered even louder when he said that he did not understand why leaders do not step down "especially when they' ve got a lot of money," again going beyond his prepared text in a knowing reference to African officials who have accumulated great fortunes while in office, often through corruption...
Finding the right balance between advocating democracy and human rights on the one hand, and cultivating cooperation on other issues like economics and security on the other, has been a challenge for Mr. Obama no matter where he travels. He came away with a sour aftertaste following the so-called Arab Spring, when countries in the Middle East and North Africa cast off autocrats only to fail to install successful democracies..
But he carries special weight in Africa, where he is seen as a favorite son with a symbolic power no predecessor had. When Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who chairs the African Union, introduced him on Tuesday, she said, "Although we welcome you as the president of the United States, we also claim you as our own."
Mr. Obama understood that. Speaking in Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall, named for the South African freedom fighter turned president, Mr. Obama said Mr. Mandela, like George Washington, understood that leaving office and handing over control peacefully was a powerful legacy.
"Just as the African Union has condemned coups and illegitimate transfers of power, the A.U.'s authority and strong voice can also help the people of Africa ensure that their leaders abide by term limits and their constitutions," Mr. Obama said.
Understanding that some might see him as lecturing or hypocritical, Mr. Obama made a point of acknowledging American flaws. "Our American democracy is not perfect," he said. "But one thing we do is we continually re-examine to figure out how can we make our democracy better. And that's a force of strength for us, being willing to look and see honestly what we need to be doing to fulfill the promise of our founding documents."
In boasting that he could win another term if the 22nd Amendment did not forbid it, Mr. Obama mirrored comments President Bill Clinton has made in the past. But unlike Mr. Clinton, who often said he would have loved to have remained president, Mr. Obama echoed his immediate predecessor, President George W. Bush, in talking wistfully of what he looks forward to doing once he leaves office.
"I'll be honest with you," he said, "I'm looking forward to life after being president. I won't have such a big security detail all the time. It means I can go take a walk. I can spend time with my family. I can find other ways to serve. I can visit Africa more often."
Source: The New York Times.
