Power and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Power and Politics - Essay Example Other than being wife of Bill Clinton, Hillary had been a standing Senator for quite a few terms and had created an image of herself throughout the country through her ambitious dream of bringing each and every American under a comprehensive health scheme. Compared to that Obama was a first time Senator who had no political pedigree or lineage as such and above all, he was colored and had a Muslim sounding middle name and spent his childhood in far away Eastern countries. The odds were heavily stacked against Obama and truly nobody was prepared to give him much of a chance in the initial stages. But Obama and his clarion call â€Å"Yes, we can †¦Ã¢â‚¬  struck a chord among the masses, not only the colored ones but the entire American middle class and he created history. He derived his power essentially from referent base. Here was a man, just as ordinary as any American, has good education from Ivy League institutions, has a family just as most Americans have and above all, ha s a dream to change the sorry state of affairs. The combined charm of all these factors was too difficult for average Americans to be indifferent to. And, the fact that he is educated and articulate with a wife who is equally educated and articulate automatically vested in him an expert power that added to the huge faith that Americans reposed on him (Mind Tools 2005).