Dan Majestic writes from Washington: President Barack Obama’s second term in office is bound to be an enjoyable experience for him. Why? Well, first of all, he doesn’t need to run for re-election and that sure takes the heat off him big time. Secondly, he is already in the history books, the first ever black president of America and, in case you don’t know this, only the second Democratic president after that charmer, Bill Clinton, to win a second term in office.

So, on the basis of these things Mr Obama has got a lot to look forward to, both in terms of earning power and widespread respect and adoration. Technically, he can do anything he wants once he steps down, even play the part of the US president in a film or write a thriller that would probably outsell Harry Potter. Not to mention recording an album of the best songs of the late great Teddy Pendergrass.

So what I’m saying here is that President Obama can take it real easy from now on. And even that ‘fiscal cliff’ that he is supposedly losing sleep over – yeah, sure, I can just see him burning the midnight oil and thinking about the ‘fiscal cliff’ – would not really spoil the fun for him. The thing is that even if Congress does not do anything about the budget cuts and tax rises that would create the ‘fiscal cliff’ on January 1, 2013, the world would not end. In fact, America’s deficit would be cut by 50 per cent, although some military, health and other programmes might suffer. But hey, no one’s promised miracles to happen, right? So Mr Obama can spend his Christmas holidays with Michelle and the girls in style.

And why shouldn’t world leaders take it easy? The less they interfere in the daily running of the nation, the better it will be for everyone. Mr Obama did not do very much in his first term and look how well it turned out for him at the elections in November. Imagine if he had absolutely nothing, as this website suggested to him on numerous occasions. He would probably have won in a landslide on November 6 and, who knows, may be the House would have gone to the Democrats as well. Let’s face it, the electorate loves nothing more than a politician who likes to enjoy himself and take it easy. Just look at Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton – they didn’t overburden themselves with the workload, now did they? And yet they are still held in high regard. But as for the busybodies like Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, well, one was impeached, the other lasted less than one term and the last one couldn’t get re-elected.

Mr Obama’s non-involvement in the running of things at home and abroad would be wise from all points of view. The economy will never recover anyway, thanks to banks still messing it up and China flooding the nation with cheap goods, so why bother at all? Unemployment is high but when was it really low? So no point in breaking sweat trying to create more jobs. Let things flow naturally and, who knows, the situation might improve by itself. Or it may not, but as there’s no re-election to fight who really cares all that much?

Out there in the great big world of international politics some new US Secretary of State, possibly Susan Rice, would trot around the globe and talk about the need to import democracy to all sorts of exotic places where no one has ever heard about it. Everyone would know that it won’t work but no one would want to spoil the fun for Susan. Drones will continue to fly all over the place, shooting targets on the ground, so wars would not really be the hassle it was in the bad old days. Mr Obama would just need to give a nod to the boys in uniform and they’ll do the rest.

Some people are saying that President Obama has split the nation during the election and needs to unite people. Why would he need to do that? America has always been divided. The poor hate the rich and the rich despise the poor. Classical Marxism. So why bother, especially if there’s no need to run for the White House again?

Whichever way you look at it, the Obamas are in for a pleasant four-year break. No hassle, no worries, just friends popping over to the White House for dinner. Not to mention that Mr Obama would have time to improve his golf and, once he steps down and O.J.Simpson is released on parole, they can enjoy a game of golf every now and then and share a joke or two between holes.

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