High hopes !!

“To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

America has a history of their President's first inaugural speech . George Washington said he was not up to the job but will do his best. Abraham Lincoln was sworn in by the person , who passed the law which upheld slavery and deemed black person inferior. Barack Obama's inauguration was a completely different story. It was the first time that so many people watched and listned to his inaugral speech , beacuse he has charmed the people from Washington to Delhi .

The message of Obama's speech was light. He highlighted that America is in crisis , is at war , the economy has failed . He said each day further the task will be much harder , but he promised a bold and a swift action to revive the economy. But nothing will happen easily and quickly. His speech indicated that tough decisions need to be taken , there was a hint that America should set aside thier way of living beyond the means.

The speech addressed domestic concerns and evoked memories of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Obama spoke to the international community as well. With plans in place to close Guantanamo Bay immediately and begin to withdraw troops from Iraq, Obama is seeking to remake America's image overseas, which had taken a dive under the Bush Administration. I believe that many Africans will be expressing optimism that Obama's presidency would mark a significant improvement in U.S. policies towards Africa. Well the speech of Mr. President Obama is exactly a tremendous message of change and hope.

But the party is over , before he could get a feel of the job American firms announced at least 65,000 job cuts on January 26th alone. I guess Mr Obama has to tackle two wars, a recession and the unexpected optimism shown by the American people.