BARACK Obama’s remarkable ascendancy to the US presidency should serve as an example to Bahamians as we seek to rid the Bahamas of certain grubby little crooks in our political system, some of whom having already graced the halls of Parliament.
Obama’s election appears to have brought a new political culture to world politics that the Bahamian electorate should also demand, rather than accepting and re-electing many of the same re-packaged, old washed-up do-nothing politicians to the House of Assembly.
On November 4th, America embraced an agent of change and took a quantum and historic leap as the eyes of the world was fixed upon its electoral process.
President-elect Obama convinced America and the world that “we can” embrace a new political climate and they (America) did—but can we?
Mr Obama won the world vote long before the American poll and, since the presidential election, has earned the overwhelming support of the American people.
A majority of American voters rose above race stereotypes and misplaced fears/prejudices and elected that nation’s first black president, who has expressed his intent to govern and embody the hopes and dreams of all Americans.
The fact that American voters rejected worn-out Republican orthodoxy for a new direction—while in many instances overlooking race—demonstrates the evolution of the American electorate and leaves a monumental question about the evolution of the Bahamian electorate. President George Bush—the modern day Herbert Hoover—has overseen two disastrous wars, the shattering of America’s once-celebrated reputation and the most catastrophic economic meltdown in recent history.
While I whooped and hollered at my election viewing party, I did so knowing that there was a pressing need for change and that Obama would inherit a plethora of challenges, but also because Dr Martin Luther King’s August 28, 1963 proclamation of his dream had become a reality.
Without a doubt, the bones of Dr King and millions of slaves must have come together and quaked in their graves on that fateful November night.
In speaking of the transcendent political aura surrounding Obama, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr said it best when he surmised:
“From toiling as White House slaves to President-elect Barack Obama, we have crossed the ultimate color line.
“What would Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois say if they could know what our people had at long last achieved? What would Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman say? What would Dr. King himself say? Would they say that all those lost hours of brutalizing toil and labor leading to spent, half-fulfilled lives, all those humiliations that our ancestors had to suffer through each and every day, all those slights and rebuffs and recriminations, all those rapes and murders, lynchings and assassinations, all those Jim Crow laws and protest marches, those snarling dogs and bone-breaking water hoses, all of those beatings and all of those killings, all of those black collective dreams deferred—that the unbearable pain of all of those tragedies had, in the end, been assuaged at least somewhat through Barack Obama's election?
“It has been crossed by our very first postmodern Race Man, a man who embraces his African cultural and genetic heritage so securely that he can transcend it, becoming the candidate of choice to tens of millions of Americans who do not look like him.”
Who can we point to on the current political landscape that embraces a new generation of politics and that we can genuinely proclaim as the candidate of choice for thousands of Bahamians, as an “Obama-esque”, transcendent political figure?
It is high time we disregard partisanship to—like Obama is continuing to exemplify—incorporate the brightest talent in any administration to work towards developing a country and formulating a progressive national plan that is free of the divisive politics that continue to plague this nation.
Just as Obama can potentially be a great president for America, during these turbulent times the setting is ripe for the emergence of an inspiring, visionary local leader—after all, great leaders are made during times of adversity, deprivation and warfare, not in times of plenty.
Quite frankly, over the last few decades—while there has been a few bright spots—the local political scene has been littered with some absolutely diabolical characters who have, in some cases, occupied the halls of parliament even though some of them can only be likened to tail waggers, nodding dogs, carpet baggers and downright shysters.
In the last few years, the local political landscape has been far more preoccupied with a myriad of scandals, rather than bona fide reformist views.
Since 2002, there has been one scandal after another, beginning with the Korean boat scandal where PLP cronies allegedly hired Korean boats to hoover up Bahamian fish stocks to supply far eastern markets.
During this time there were also claims of victimisation at BAIC, where it is alleged that then Holy Cross MP Sidney Stubbs was seeking to victimise FNM workers. It was also under Mr Stubbs’ stewardship that the Korean boat scandal exploded.
In no particular order, these scandals were followed by more embarrassing episodes such as accusations of rape against then Works Minister Bradley Roberts and the Cabinet Room brawl where Keod Smith is alleged to have given Kenyatta Gibson a touch of the old kung fu.
There was also the money in the closet debacle, where it was claimed that then Financial Investments minister Vincent Peet had a bundle of crisp bank notes stashed in a cupboard.
During this distasteful episode, Mr Peet claimed the money was for his daughter’s college tuition, which provoked amusement, particularly the image of the then financial services minister dragging a bag of loot across America, as if he couldn’t simply conduct a wire transfer.
In yet another repugnant episode, Shane Gibson’s friendship with the late Anna Nicole Smith, in light of the speedy granting of her permanent residency status, gave off a foul stink among many right-thinking Bahamians and others who had long applied to the Department of Immigration, in some instances for up to 5 or 10 years.
While there may have been other scandals, several of the main players shamelessly offered themselves for re-election and in some instances were elected with the lingering stench of a still unresolved scandal.
It is past due that the Bahamian electorate cease the practice of electing visionless politicians merely on the basis of personality and flair.
Over the last decade, it appears that we have been repeatedly electing certain politicians who are outright pinheads and tin men, full of childish braggadocio but devoid of a national plan or any appreciable outlook for the country.
Recently, Minister of Education Carl Bethel’s intemperate, impetuous response to a meeting of teachers at the Eight Mile Rock high school illustrates arrogance and an unaccountable air that many politicians seem to adopt once they are elected and elevated to a ministerial post.
When the minister ran away from a group of public school teachers—taxpayers that contribute to his hefty yearly salary and perks—only to subsequently hold an angry press conference, the public caught a glimpse of a man who does not seem to possess the consensus-building skills or the temperament to lead whether as a Prime Minister during a serious catastrophe or in his present role directing a gargantuan ministry and truly transforming our defunct educational system.
While there may have been some showboating by the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT), how could the minister—someone who actively campaigned for that portfolio and sought to be a servant of the people—feel ambushed? If this had been a gathering for a political rally, would Mr Bethel have scurried away so quickly? Why would Mr Bethel prefer to snobbishly set preconditions if the teachers all seem to have wanted to speak to their issues with him?
This no doubt can be interpreted as behaviour that can sometimes be equivalent to that of malignant narcissists.
Frankly, the Bahamas needs new age, Obama-like leaders who exhibit high ideals and are motivated by something other than money, particularly since most of the current local politicians are seemingly in the business of self-aggrandisement and filling their pockets.
For far too long, local politics has been dominated by parochial figures who
cannot see beyond their backyard, which is a stark contrast to the international, broad-based perspective of Obama.
Furthermore, it is high time that more accountable politicians are elected to office, particularly since some many are unproductive and unconcerned about the needs of their constituents. Isn’t it perplexing how certain constituencies remain undeveloped, yet they adopt some form of political tribalism and consistently vote one way every election cycle.
Among other electoral democratic reforms, the Bahamas’ constitution should be reframed to limit a politician’s parliamentary stay (elected) to two terms, particularly since many politicians have stayed beyond their “best before” (expiry) date and appear to have abused the parliamentary process while stifling the rise of young up-and-comers who may possess new ideas.
Similar to the US presidential term limit, a prime minister—like an MP—should be limited to two five-year terms, and the leader of a party should emerge from democratic primaries.
In these times of economic recession, it is time a younger generation—with moral fortitude—rise to the pinnacle of our nation’s highest office. It is sad when there has been no significant attempt to diversify our economy since Sir Stafford Sands established our present economic model—based on tourism and financial services—nearly 50 years ago. Although Bahamians are incredibly docile, local politics is salvageable but only by focusing on the issues and steadily developing a completely different political ethos.
First published in The Tribune on Monday, November 24, 2008 under the byline, Young Man's View.
