Obama Made Me Write Again

Obama's victory is indeed an historical moment, it deserves the honor to be the "break the curse" post in this long-neglected blog.

Forgive me if I'm not cheering along with his supporters and -- I suspect -- the majority of Indonesians. Obama is a good man, and despite my first sentence in this paragraph, for these past few weeks I agreed wholeheartedly with anyone predicting his win. On the other hand, had not there been the Wall Street crash and gigantic corporates collapses, his chances would've been a pretty tough call.

I am still quite happy with his winning, though, because it will gear positive sentiment in the market. My dad, a small number player (but he puts half his savings there!), might be able to finally smile again -- although I won't count on it.

I am also full of hopes with his foreign policy, particularly on the Middle East issues. Many Israelis seeing Obama as "unfriendly towards Israel" alone amuses me -- I am one of that larger group of Christians who can't stand the Israelis. That does not necessarily resonates with the truth, let alone constitutes Obama's attitude towards the Jewish groups and their powerful lobbyists. Obama is indeed viewed by many Jewish voters as sending mixed signals in light of the Israel-Palestine conflict and practically every other threat to Israel. Even if history showed that Jewish swing voters (that is, the so-called independent Jewish) tend to go Democratic, Obama's strikingly different background from the previous Democratic presidential candidates might have as well turned them away. The results have shown otherwise, of course. And this should not be regarded by all means as the evidence that there is a new generation of American Jewish, who have given up the idea of Israel claiming sole authority over Jerusalem. But rather a behavior shaped by past experience that any White House incumbent - Republican or Democratic - can never snub the Jews.

Obama's taking the seat in Oval Office does not also guarantee a friendlier US's policy to Indonesia. Obama never denied his Indonesian background, nor has he been gracious in complimenting Indonesia - if he ever has. In fact, during his campaign, he had tried to steer away from any association to Indonesia. His time in Indonesia serves only as a fact, though it did help him a lot in dealing with other cultures. But yeah, why should I be cynical to the Indonesians who are ecstatic for his win or early on formed Facebook groups to support Obama?

And like I said, I have the good reason to thank Obama: he made me write again.

Ugh.. by the way, did anyone also notice the similarity between Obama and our very own SBY? They both like to use their hands when speaking.