Gerald Loftus
Gerald Loftus had every reason to be in a good mood when our correspondent tracked him down – as one of Belgium’s Democrats Abroad Speakers Bureau, Barack Obama’s victory left him elated and exhausted, but only too willing to share his thoughts with Together.
I ask him what he sees as the world’s reaction to the election and he replies: “Relief. I mean, imagine waking up that morning to find that McCain had won. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”
We’ve met to discuss the election and what happens next. Loftus has been in the US Foreign Service from 1979 to 2002, serving in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Nowadays, he’s settled in Brussels, where he writes and consults on diplomacy and defence. Soft spoken, with a friendly and thoughtful manner, he has become a much sought-after commentator and his aptly named weblog, Avuncular American, is widely read by policy wonks on both sides of the Atlantic.
WORK BEGINS
Although the celebrations have ended, there’s no respite for the President-Elect, as we’re now in the pre-inauguration phase and he has to build and prepare his new administration. The transition team has to fill around 7,000 posts that consist of Presidential appointments, including Cabinet, 200 Ambassadors, policy advisors and aides. Applicants for these positions are also some of the most vetted people on Earth, having to complete exhaustive background checks. It is in this that Loftus sees real change occurring. “Short of programmes that require legislation or funding, on the philosophy of government you can see real change.”
“One of the reasons we got into this terrible position is in the laxity, the unwillingness to use the levers of government regulation or supervision. The instruments were there, but they weren’t used. Bush tended to appoint cronies or people who were ideologically opposed to regulation or intervention. For example, if you give the regulation of financial markets to someone opposed to the notion of government control, and that is what has happened, how can you expect to have proper controls?”
Loftus explains that Obama and the Democrats are not opposed to the role of government being involved in society as long as the proper oversight is in place, so a change of approach does appear likely. This is a more subtle phenomenon than a campaign promise, but deep and real change across the board in all areas of policy. “It’s a change of gear, of direction, but it is a case of government doing its job.”
NOT JUST THE ECONOMY, STUPID
It’s accepted that Obama faces the inbox from Hell, but what can he do straight away? The economy will be the top priority, but the situation is in flux. As British Prime Minister Harold Wilson said, a week is a long time in politics, and the six weeks till the inauguration are looking like an eternity. Secondly, there’s the Middle East and Afghanistan. Loftus sees resolving, or at least getting towards an end game in Iraq, as the first step. “For progress to be made on other issues in the Middle East, Palestine–Israel, US-Syria relations and Iran, settlement in Iraq will be required. These are all really tough issues that can’t be solved easily or quickly, but we’ve got to show from the start that we’re interested. We’ve got to reinvigorate processes.”
While the policy and the people are being put in place, attention is also being paid to the votes. Analysts are poring over spreadsheets, picking apart the results to see who voted for Obama and why. Was victory achieved by young voters, minorities and groups such as naturalized Americans (more than 300,000 new citizenships were granted in California alone last year) or by single women and blue-collar workers?
VEXING OVER VOTING
Of greater concern to Loftus is the issue of what has been termed ‘voter suppression’, that is, the removal of voters from the register. As large turnouts tend to favour the Democrats, Loftus alleges that there are efforts to discourage voters from turning out. “The high turnout, more than 62 per cent, is encouraging and needs to be built upon, but we still have the same laws and regulations that apply to voting and that system is extremely haphazard, decentralized and has led to a lot of things going wrong, so there are inherent dangers that need to be fixed. Almost all American elections in recent years have been flawed, contested and, while the news is good if you support Obama, this good news should not translate to complacency.”
So, while it’s clear that Gerald Loftus will be busy explaining US politics to Belgium, will anyone be volunteering to make sense of Belgian politics to Americans? Or to anyone at all, for that matter?
Check out Gerald Loftus’ weblog is at AvuncularAmerican.typepad.com.
First published in Together Magazine
