He animated the spirit of a nation with the most fundamental affirmation of the collective human capacity: "Yes, we can". He convinced a disaffected electorate of the urgency of his political mission, constantly intoning "Now is the time" along the campaign trail. In declaring, "It's been a long time coming... but change has come to America," Barack Obama brought a prophetic fulfilment to Sam Cooke's plaintive promise in that haunting civil rights anthem.

On that fateful autumn day America had managed to shed layers of collective shame accumulated over the centuries in a matter of hours. With his ascension to power, Barack Obama, whose given name denotes the force of thunder in the language of his forebears, had shown that America was now ready to atone for the sin of racism. In his declaration of victory in which he referenced Cooke, Obama once again exposed the inextricable nexus between art and life. For let there be no doubt that art played a pivotal role in the ultimate triumph of Obama and his message of change.

The comic artistry of Bill Maher, Jon Stewart and Colbert did more in my opinion to distinguish the thoughtful observations of Obama from the puerile mutterings of his opponents than the ponderous punditry of the chattering class on national television. For me a night of comic exchange on Letterman or Leno is worth far more than a week of political analysis from Chris Matthews or Glen Beck. Ironically, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity seemed to have had some unintended comic effect from their venomous observations; no one took them seriously.

There are many who contend that John McCain owes his defeat as much to the misguided economic policies of George W Bush as he does to Tina Fey's comic skewering of Sarah Palin. During the presidential campaign the ratings of SNL shot through the roof, and McCain and Obama ensured that they were a part of the act. The sad fact is that comedy can (sometimes unfairly) crystallise and clarify an issue in a manner that is both visceral and cerebral. Most writers would certainly aspire to the communicative efficacy of a Gary Trudeau or a Clovis. Humour is serious business. We remember the things we laugh at, a fact which McCain seemed to have mostly forgotten given that his famed sense of humour was largely absent from the campaign, save on shows such as Saturday Night Live.

What is clear is that the Democrats assembled an impressive array of musical firepower in support of their cause. The legendary Stevie Wonder was a constant musical presence at the Obama rallies and his Signed, Sealed, Delivered provided a pulsating backdrop for the Chicago senator's campaign. Bruce Springsteen lent his influential voice to the cause of change in America and the world.

The successful efforts of artistes such as Will.I.Am in getting out the votes are deserving of serious scholarly analysis. It is my opinion that the harnessing of the awesome emotive powers of music was critical in the mobilisation of the usually unreliable youth and black votes. When the history of this momentous campaign is writ I am confident that it will make a significant attribution to the role of the Will.I.Am-produced music video Yes We Can which secured millions of hits on YouTube.

I think it would be fair to say that the candidacy and eventual presidency of Barack Obama have inspired more positive references than those of any of his predecessors in the history of the American Republic. Clearly Barack Hussein Obama carries an enormous burden of expectations on his slender shoulders. Yet the liberative power of his ascension to power might have a far greater impact on the economic and political character of his country than any policy he will pursue during his hopefully fruitful tenancy in the White House. Perhaps one of Obama's greatest attributes is his ability to be distinctive without being exclusive. It served him well during his rise to power. His veiled references to the significance of his historic triumph were emphatic without being explicit. The change to which he spoke and of which Sam Cooke sang was unmistakable in the minds of those who have ears to hear. For Obama, like that other famous hybrid Bob Marley, is keenly aware of his role in facilitating the black man redemption, recognising the importance of being inclusive if only to be true to their own mixed heritage. Obama like many successful revolutionaries clearly understands the value of codes in the confounding of one's opponents and the mobilising of one's allies (a feature of African tradition).

Many pundits are still astounded by Obama's crossover appeal. As I have pointed out repeatedly in these columns artistes usually cross over before their message. The same applies for political and religious figures. In politics as in music, style and manner can be more important than message. Obama's temperament and demeanour attracted many who would not normally be attuned to what has been seen as his liberal political stance.

I have said before that Miss Lou is one of the greatest revolutionaries ever to emerge on the Jamaican political landscape. Her influence is still reverberating across the world in modern popular culture. The secret to her success was that she never drew attention to herself as a subversive. Barack will be able to do more for blacks in America and around the world simply because he overtly excluded them from his campaign narrative. He never explicitly championed their cause but there was the implicit understanding that he was on their side. Obama speaks glowingly of the Republican President Abraham Lincoln's accommodating "team of rivals" approach to governance. However, it might be Teddy Roosevelt's aphoristic assessment of presidential conduct (speak softly but carry a big stick) which might be more emblematic of the Obama political legacy. It is a lesson which most of our leaders ignore to their political peril. Power tested is usually influence lost. Too many of our leaders have become consumed with slogans. Barack seems intimately attuned to the wise sentiments of that great Chinese leader Deng Xhiao Peng whose visionary policies launched the most phenomenal economic growth in human history some 30 years ago.

Deng concluded that it was not very important whether a cat was black or white as long as it caught mice. The pragmatic Deng knew that being vociferous can derail one's ultimate objective. I was once reminded by Karl Young, a Jamaican folk philosopher of Chinese extraction (who was once my employer), "Doah watch the noise a di mawkit mek shure yu get the coreck change". It is a lesson every student of history and politics should cherish.

clyde.mckenzie@gmail.com

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