Editorial: Obama’s predicament

When US President Barack Obama arrives in Indonesia next week, we will likely see an American leader freshly beaten by the results of today’s midterm elections. Most polls predict that Democrats will lose control of the House of Representatives to Republicans and they may just hold on to the Senate.

Weakened or not, Obama is coming to Indonesia as leader of the world’s second largest democracy. That’s how we should welcome him.

Nevertheless, it is sad to see that optimism and hope that accompanied his election two years ago as the first African-American president — and one who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia — is disappearing. His promise to change US’s divisive politics never really took off although he gave his best shot with his healthcare reform bill. US politics is back to where they have always been, highly polarized.

Instead of delivering hope, we see an Obama who has been struggling to take the US economy out of the recession, which he inherited from the spending-spree era of his predecessor George W. Bush. His economic stimulus package meanwhile has run its course and the US is still struggling with a slow recovery, with unemployment remaining high and amid warnings of a possible double-dip recession.

Americans are angry at their predicament, and they are venting it at Obama, and the Republicans are capitalizing on this to wrest control of the Congress. That is the downside of democracy: No matter how visionary a leader is, at the end of the day, they still have to pander to popular sentiments and play ball to nurture public support, and in the case of the midterm elections, the Congress’ support.

When Obama comes to Indonesia, he will be a Democrat president who has to share power with the Republicans, with all its consequences in terms of his effectiveness in governing. Americans will have voted, and if they want power-sharing, that’s exactly what they will get. Maybe it will not be so bad after all. Obama will not only be sharing power with the Republicans, but also responsibility.

If the election goes as widely predicted, Obama will have something in common with his Indonesian host Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Indonesian leader also has to share power with other political parties to secure support in the House of Representatives. Beside discussing bilateral relations, Obama and Yudhoyono can also share tips on how to govern effectively under power-sharing arrangements.