@Hasan How can I talk about Gujranwala and not talk about Chirra’s… After you have mentioned Chirra, I can’t look at any picture of Obama without thinking about those slim creatures…

@Kaami What I am impressed with is the way the guy can articulate and interact with crowd. There are very few leaders, whose ability to express their thoughts so vividly and effectively can be celebrated.

Take Tony Blair (What a treat it is to hear him talk) and Martin Luther King ( Geo Ran his "I have a Dream" speach today) for example.

Point I was trying to make was not if Obama is good or bad. His Persona and achievement truly gives him a place in history.

I almost cried today, when GEO ran that "I Have A Dream" Tape. I, you, we.. all have a dream about this city and country.

I just envy, how lucky Americans are that they have a leader to cherish about. we don’t! My hear beats very fast when Aatizaz Ahsan says "Riyasat ho apni, Maan Kay Jaisee"

We do need a leader instead of I-Smile-At-You President to take us out of these difficult times. We need our Obama!

I agree fully with what tparacha wrote and last part of your second comment. We have a need to normalize our relations with India. but due to historic baggage that we carry, It might not be possible in our times. may be after 3 generations…. but who knows as strange things are happening around us… have a nice day and god bless Pakistan.

1/ US disengagement from Iraq fiasco.
2/ Renewed emphasis on Afghanistan to go after Al-Q.
3/ Increased pressure on Pakistan to help clear the mess.

The good things that I see:

1/ Bye bye catastrophic Bushism
2/ Bye bye unilaterism.
3/ Willingness to listen to and work with allies.

So, no matter if there are planes full bombs or roses that are coming our way, atleast, for now we know that there is someone at the top, who we can reason with. Altough, I have little confidence in our current political leadership to skillfully / honestly handle this task.

As far as democrat’s inclination towards India is concerned, I don’t think it makes a difference now. India’s position is now very well established, after all, a conservative president signed an unprecedented nuclear deal with them. We ourselves should work to rapidly normalize our relations with our neighbour and open up new avenues for our depressed economy.

Obama is inheriting a mess and being the first African American elect the stakes are very HIGH for him. I hope he delivers on his promises and treat the Muslim world with respect and dignity.

“The way Obama Interacted with the crowed reminded me of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Only one leader in know history of Pakistan had such a charisma… Also I do see some sparks of such charisma in Lawyers Moment.”

So its all about charisma. No its not just that, the key ingredients also include common sense, foresight, wisdom, intellectual ability, reasoning and a cal demeanour. So a leader can be charismatic like Bhutto, some body in the lawyers movement, Hitler, Tony Blair, Castro, Yasser Arafat, Qadafi and still take a nation for a very rough ride. When Bhutto nationalized Commerce and Industry and de-valued merit he took the nation atleast 25 years back. Not to mention his aspiration of becoming the leader of the Islamic world and joining hands with likes of Qaddafi / Arafat was a diversion from the real issues facing the nation. So a charismatic leader took us for a ride. Same is the case in the Lawyers Movement where not so charismatic leaders took us for a ride once again and achieved nothing but the weakening of the state and presenting an opportunity to two biggest thieves that this nation has produced, to return. Not to mention the forces of chaos and fanaticism who took advantage of the situation and the country went into an endless spiral.

Rest of the post can be termed as pure speculation about how things will unfold for Pakistan. For me its not as much what US would do “to us” or “for us”. It’s more like, what we want to do and achieve as a nation? Do we want to remain entangled in pointless conflicts, causes, jihad’s, ideals and medieval thinking? or do we want to progress in peace, let go of violent tendencies, work to stabilize our country rather than destabilize it.

Btw, excellent post R.MAK, I felt the same while watching him on TV today. Let’s hope Obama’s quantum of change is good for Pakistan…