What has become increasingly clear from both President Barack Obama's State of the Union Speech this week and responses from his arch-political rival, the Republican Party, is that the developing world in general and Africa in specific have been placed even more on the back-burner as they prepare to slug it out ahead of America's presidential election in November.
The emphasis of both Obama's speech and that of Mitch Daniels, who is the Republican Governor of Indiana and who replied on behalf of his party to the Presidential Address, screamed this dramatically for the whole world to see.
The idea of America – perhaps still harboured by some – as a “big brother” in world affairs, tasking itself with bringing some kind of social and economic justice through active reform remains a myth.
The emphasis and energy of America is fixed firmly upon America and its “recovery” from the economic gloom being used as a political football between the Republicans and Democrats. The theme of “US versus them” was threaded overtly throughout Obama's speech and that of his Republican Party political rival.
And dare I say it… Obama's talk is typical of the isolationist-military approach to international affairs of which Republicans have often been accused of in history. It is America first at all costs, not fully grasping the impact of poverty and hunger has on a global stage and on the security, safety and the well-being of America. Obama the international statesman has disappeared like mist before the rising sun.
At best Obama placed a huge exclamation mark over America's military intervention and not on diplomacy and mutual co-operation with other countries to solve the challenges of impoverishment and its stepchildren of economic and political instability.
Yes, Obama did mention in his speech that the US was determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but in the same breath his establishment Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China smashed hard as stone against the criticism America faces inter-nationally in terms of its bully boy attitude to others nations.
“Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you -– America will always win,” he said to applause
Under Obama's continued rule America is also set to get harder on immigration.
“I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That's why my administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That's why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office. The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now,” he said
His rattling on about America's status as the world's premier military power also speaks volumes about the approach to foreign affairs as he turns inward to fight the up-coming election.
“We've made it clear that America is a Pacific power, and a new beginning in Burma has lit a new hope. From the coalitions we've built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we've led against hunger and disease; from the blows we've dealt to our enemies, to the enduring power of our moral ex-ample, America is back. Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they're talking about,” he said.
Obama continued: “The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. Our oldest alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger than ever. Our ties to the Americas are deeper. Our ironclad commitment — and I mean ironclad — to Israel's security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history”.
Laying down the gauntlet to all-comers inter-nationally that America was “back” to its heavy-handed military approach to international affairs, Obama said: “That's not the message we get from leaders around the world who are eager to work with us. That's not how people feel from Tokyo to Berlin, from Cape Town to Rio, where opinions of America are higher than they've been in years. Yes, the world is changing. No, we can't control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs –- and as long as I'm President, I intend to keep it that way”.
He also highlighted measures to maintain “the finest military in the world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our bud-get”.
In Daniel's response to Obama he also turned inward by sketching the mindset of Americans from his party's pespective.
“As Republicans our first concern is for those waiting tonight to begin or resume the climb up life's ladder. We do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of haves and have nots; we must always be a nation of haves and soon to haves.”
He tackled Obama's domestic economic reforms by saying: “He (Obama) seems to sincerely believe we can build a middle class out of government jobs paid for with borrowed dollars. In fact, it works the other way: a government as big and bossy as this one is maintained on the backs of the middle class, and those who hope to join it”.
He continued: “Those punished most by the wrong turns of the last three years are those unemployed or underemployed tonight, and those so discouraged that they have abandoned the search for work altogether. And no one has been more tragically harmed than the young people of this country, the first generation in memory to face a future less promising than their parents did,” Daniels added.
Earlier Obama had said: “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules”.
He also pointed to the internal “successes” of his administration.
“Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we've agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we've put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like this never happens again.
“The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we've come too far to turn back now. As long as I'm President, I will work with any-one in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place. No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial pro-fits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last -– an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values,” Obama said.
Whether or not the November US Presidential election will be Obama's political Waterloo remains to be seen. What is certain is that in both his walk and his talk Obama is pandering to the conservative voter base which his rivals hope will sweep them to power at the end of the year.
What this means for world politics and for the developing world is clear: be prepared to come a distant second as political America – both Republican and Democrat – reasserts putting their country first to the continued detriment of everybody else. It also presents a world affairs vacuum that economic powerhouses like China will liberally exploit.