Radio Australia Today Editorial

We Had Our Own Barack Obama first.

19 January 2009

Just a few minutes ago Barack Obama stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to speak to the thousands of people already in the zone for his upcoming inauguration. He had a hard act to follow: Bono and U2 warmed up the freezing crowd, and what a job they did.

It was nothing compared to the speech Obama gave when he hit the dias. It was as inspired as any inauguration speech by a Kennedy, Roosevelt or Clinton. It was full of quotes that will undoubtedly be outdone by the real inauguration speech in two days’ time.

On the weekend I finished reading the latest biography of a man who could be called Australia’s Barack Obama.

This was a man who was equally loved and hated; just as powerful with words; just as bright with ideas, and who also campaigned into office on a theme of change.

I’m talking here about the only Australian prime minister to have been sacked from office. He too entered office as the world entered into recession.

His name is Gough Whitlam.

Whitlam was a transformational leader. When he was elected in 1972, Australia was a rather staid country with virtually no film industry, a stagnant immigration policy and a foreign view that was enmeshed in cold war fears.

In the first six months of office, Whitlam swept all this away. He stopped conscription, recognised mainland China, made tertiary education free. He also cut tariffs and went on to make big infrastructure spends.

Unfortunately for him, all this happened as the world recession hit. Unemployment shot up, inflation went into double digits, and growth slowed.

Whitlam was blamed for a lot of this because of his big-spending ways. He remains to this day, a divisive figure.

But reading his words, and having interviewed him, I can tell you that there is a certain grandeur about the man (in fact ‘A Certain Grandeur” was the name of his biography). Watching Obama speak this morning I saw that same certain grandeur on display.

Of course grandeur does not guarantee a great leader. Barack Obama is yet to be tested by office. Gough Whitlam, after years of stretching for the grand prize, found the prime ministership a hard slog. He was dragged to two early elections by an Opposition that challenged his every move. His big fault was that he didn’t always take the Australia people with him on his reformist route. After decades of ‘steady-as-she-goes’ the population just wasn’t ready for quite so much change in such a short time.

Bill Clinton found that out too with his failed health system reforms.

Barack Obama won office promising change. He should also know that he can’t let the pace of reform scoot ahead of the expectations of the people. He will need to communicate the needs for the changes at every step.

If anyone has the communication skills to pull it off and to succceed where Whitlam failed, it is Barack Obama.

                                        – Phil