Obama Needs Madiba Magic

Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa and one of the world's most respected statesman, led an international reception for Barack Obama on Wednesday, calling the first black US president "a new voice of hope." While some 2 million people packed the frigid National Mall in Washington, DC to hear Mr Obama's voice live, his audience truly spanned the globe. After eight years of an administration which often ran roughshod over the international community, many outside the US were expecting a more conciliatory tone from Mr Obama.

Great expectations were met with grand vision. In his inaugural address, Mr Obama offered a thinly-veiled repudiation of George W Bush's tenure, promising a new commitment to diplomatic relations with friends and foes alike. On his first day in office, Mr Obama suspended military trials at the Guantanamo Bay naval base, and by Wednesday the president had signed an executive order closing the infamous detention camp and the nefarious web of "black site" CIA interrogation facilities across the globe.

In his letter to the American president, Mr Mandela wrote that the inauguration was "something truly historic not only in the political annals of the United States of America, but of the world." While much of Europe, Latin America, and Africa rejoiced, foreign correspondents were trying to gauge the more nuanced reactions in Asia and the Middle East. Indeed, many analysts have commented on the ambivalent reception of Mr Obama's remarks in the Muslim world (some hailing his comments on a withdrawal from Iraq, others lamenting his avoidance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict).

In North Korea, the highly repressive state media made no mention of the inauguration in Washington, instead choosing to report on presidential proceedings in Equatorial Guinea. Similarly, China Central Television (CCTV) censored parts of Mr Obama's speech. After the president said, "Recall that previous generations faced down fascism and communism," the interpreter's voice was dropped and the picture cut away from the Capitol to an in-studio news anchor. China's online translations of Mr Obama's speech were also edited to remove any references to "communism."

The simple reality is that Mr Obama's overwhelming support comes from non-crisis regions. To be sure, the new president will need European help in fixing the global financial crisis and in strengthening NATO forces in Afghanistan. But in the regions where Mr Obama faces major foreign policy challenges (Iraq, Iran, Gaza, Pakistan, China, and North Korea) his rhetorical skills will have be matched by practical policies.

Mr Mandela proved incredibly adept at finding diplomatic solutions to his most difficult problems. To this day, South Africa's peaceful transition from minority to majority rule is held as an example of leadership for all nations. By all accounts, however, the crises facing Mr Obama are more complicated and more consequential. Let's hope his "new voice" can work the same Madiba magic.