HONG KONG — Tuesday will be an historic day when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th U.S. president. He is not only the first African-American president to hold the highest office, but his swearing in is also a triumph of the Great American Dream.
In what other country would the offspring of a black foreigner and a white American from a relatively poor background be able to run for the highest office, let alone beat the war hero candidate of the established party in power? It would have been unthinkable even in America a generation ago.
Sen. Obama had promised that, come January, things would be different. "Yes, we can," his supporters chanted optimistically. But already the chill reality of economic and political winter is beginning to freeze some of the dreams.