When Barack H. Obama, the first African American President of the US, took the oath of office, the Political Pundits had predicted that, Mr. Obama would be a single term President. It was not because of his skin color, but due to the fact that he had inherited a downward spiralling economy.

In a few days, when we hit the polling booths for the mid term elections, Mr. Obama may get a message that he is trying to avoid in futility. The inept leadership of his predecessor made the ugly and unavoidable, but truthful handwriting   rather easily visible on the wall.

The ill conceived wars, launched by the Bush Administration, in the name of security have proven to be catastrophic in nature, and have taken a major toll on the entire world. What President Bush and his National Security Advisors missed was that their adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan were short sighted, costly and quite emotionally and financially taxing on the general American public. Above all, it did not make their lives one bit better and the cost that public has paid to earn the “perceived security”, certainly outweighs the benefit. To make matters worse, the threat of terrorism looming over our shoulders has never diminished.

Even if Senator McCain had made it to the White House, his challenges would have been the same. The back bone of American Economy is the housing market. If anything, by the time Mr. Obama completes his first and perhaps only term in office, the glut of foreclosures may slow down, but not completely disappear. Until or unless, the real estate market, the secondary mortgage market and ancillary functions, go back to their normal mode, all we may see is some cosmetic effect.

The service sector jobs which were farmed out to other nations, in pursuit of efficiency by the former Administration, need to be brought back to the US. You don’t have to be a Nobel winning Economist, to figure out that the economies, which were recipient of those jobs are thriving, to say the least. Try consoling an unemployed American in the heartland or the major metropolis, that there job which was out sourced to South Asian labor market, has increased efficiencies in their household.

There is no question that Post 9/11 world is perilous. But most importantly, an average American is completely out of the tentacles of Terrorism. Yes, it is a global phenomenon and America has waged a war against an evil ideology, but with all that hefty price our borders and crossing points, our ports, our gateways are still begging for attention. Homeland security should begin from home. If my house is completely secure, no intruder can potentially enter and create any mischief or harm. Our priorities are, to say the least, in need of some revamping.

Mr. Obama’s slogan of “Hope and Change” resonated well with the masses. But the odds against this Hope translating into “tangible and effective change” are monstrous. As mentioned earlier, the pace at which change is coming, “Hope” is dwindling. Unfortunately, nothing short of a miracle can turn the tide around. It is time for some real swift change in direction and “change” is needed now more than ever. Mr. Obama are you listening?