Obama: The First Mestizo Leader North of the Border |
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| Authors: | CARLOS FUENTES |
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| Affiliation: | Most recent book is Happy Families;, a collection of short stories. Along with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, he was recently awarded the Quixote Prize by the king of Spain. The following essay has been translated from the Spanish. |
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| Abstract: | America is more a creed than a nation. Our promise has always been that all individuals, despite race, religion or gender, have the equal chance to make it. The election of Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States is thus a “soft power” coup for America's global image, which had lost its luster during the Bush years. Obama is the anti‐Bush who will lead by the power of example instead of the example of power. Yet, there are real limits. Can the power of example stop the North Korean or Iranian nuclear programs? Can it stop jihadists bent on establishing a new Caliphate across South Asia? Can it limit China's ambitions as the new power in Asia? In this section commentators from across the world offer their views. |
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