During the Democratic Convention in the year 2004 to declare John Kerry as the Party's nominee for the President of United States, one of the multiple speakers on the stage was a newly elected Senator from Abraham Lincoln's state of Illinois. There was two things special about this Senator - he was one of the rare African-American Senators and a charismatic communicator. His name was BARACK OBAMA.
With his famous "Skinny kid with a Funny name" speech, Obama catapulted into the limelight during that Convention. A star was born. When I saw that speech, interrupted by standing ovations, I predicted a bright future for him.
Little anybody knew that in the subsequent Democratic Convention exactly 4 years later, the same person would be at the centre of the spotlight, being the Party's nominee for the President of United States of America.
No one would've predicted that another 4 years later as Obama walked into White House for his 2nd term, the Democrat nominee at 2004 Convention, John Kerry would be serving him as his Secretary of State. It yet vindicates that time define fortune and it's wheel.
Obama was the first African American in true sense - his father was an African (from Kenya) and mother an American. Economy was in a free fall when Obama took over. Bill Clinton left America's economy with a budget surplus, George Bush spectacularly squandered it, leaving with trillions of dollars deficit, mostly due to his Iraqi misadventure.
As Sanjeev Kumar said in the iconic Hindi movie SHOLAY, LOHA KO LOHA KAT TA HAI (only iron can cut iron), Sadadam Hussein was a ba***rd, but he was our ba**rd. He kept Iran under control and put a lid on a can of worms. But Bush went there and opened the lid for the worms to grow and form the core of ISIS today.
Obama was prudent to stay out of Middle East. At home his Auto bailout and Stimulus Package arrested the economic bloodbath, assuring him another term. Though many expected much more him, he did a pretty good job as he inherited a mess no President in the modern history of United States did. America is pretty stable now as he ends his tenure, compared to when he took over.
Barack Obama will be judged as the buffer between two political buffoons, George W Bush and Donald Trump, the later still untested. He will go down history as a President who not only prevented a sinking ship from going down, rather steadied it on its course. Adieu President Obama. America and world are going to miss you.
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