No matter what you think of him, you have to agree that Barack Obama is working hard and will probably have a lasting effect on the US of A. He already earned his place in history books as the first "non-Caucasian" president. And, at least from my Canadian point of view, he's bringing about change.
In leadership school, you always learn that change is hard. People usually fight it because, even if they see the potential benefits, change will be uncomfortable in the beginning. This is why, usually, politicians promise change (hey! Everyone wants a better life) but never really do anything (sacrifice? Actually, it's not so bad right now…).
If you need to enact change, you have to be relentless about it. You have to show people that the benefits outweigh the costs and you have to keep saying it ad nauseam. You also need to have a plan in order for everything to go smoothly.
What Obama is doing is different. He's basically on the post-iceberg Titanic trying to keep it afloat. He can enact most of what he wanted to do with the country since the alternative is, well, drowning. This also explains his lack of success so far on foreign grounds (On that note, I don't think that what he accomplished with other countries so far, just that the extent of what he did within the US in such a short of time is very impressive). The question is: does he have a plan? To continue with nautical metaphors, you can't only be keeping the boat afloat, you need to find help or get the boat to a port.
It is with such a plan that he will be able to secure a much more significant place in history than the "token black guy". The leaders who lead in a crisis are in a tremendous position to enact long term change that will shape the destiny of their country. For better… or for worse.
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