Great expectations

The election of Barack Obama as America’s next president has unleashed a wave of optimism. In the hours after his election, disabled activist Alan Holdsworth wrote of his hopes that President Obama could transform the lives of disabled Americans

It was my wife’s birthday on the fifth of November: Guy Fawkes Night and the dawning of a new age in the US and across the world.

America has overwhelmingly elected its first black president, Barack Obama. I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia, in the vital state of Pennsylvania.

Obama and fellow presidential candidate John McCain virtually lived here over the past year and there has hardly been anything but political adverts on the TV.

So why do I think Obama won, and what does it mean for disabled people in the US and in the wider world?

As for the win, I think a pundit on CNN put it most succinctly. McCain sold McCain, and Obama sold his policies.

Yes, McCain is a war hero; yes, he is a disabled person as a result of torture; but trying to find out what he would do to advance the rights and opportunities for disabled people is a task that not only stumped me, but academics and US disability activists alike.

I diligently researched all of the McCain and Palin websites and speeches I could find and came up empty. No wonder disabled people turned out in large numbers to vote for Obama.

Obama’s policies* were easy to find, specific, and reflected what many disabled activists have been calling for over many years. He was an early and consistent supporter of the Community Choice Act**, which would force all states to provide independent living services, and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would extend federal hate crime laws to include disability hate crimes. The Hate Crimes act would also introduce tougher sentences for such crimes and the allocation of federal resources for their detection and prosecution.

Most significantly on an international level, Obama has pledged to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Add to this a pledge to strengthen the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provide full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees equality and inclusion in education and investment in early years education for disabled children in mainstream settings, and it is no wonder that we live in a time of hope.

Most important to many disabled people and most mentioned on the campaign over here is that Obama’s healthcare plan includes and protects people with pre-existing conditions. That’s us!

This would open up employment to disabled people and most importantly would mean they could be safe and secure in their future. Obama’s platform is undoubtedly impressive, but can he carry it out in the teeth of the current financial crisis?

I’ve been a close observer of US politics over the past 20 years, and it may surprise people to know that it is Republicans who have passed some of the most significant legislation, such as the ADA (George Bush Senior) and Money Follows the Person, which meant disabled people could take the money it costs to live in an institution and use it to buy independent living services in the community (George W Bush).

I don’t remember that Bill Clinton achieved that much for disabled people, apart from the appointment of a few activists to top positions.

Obama’s answer was interesting when he was asked which of his programmes would have to go in the light of the financial crisis. He said that nothing would have to go, but some of them might have to happen more slowly. So watch this space…for quite a while!

So here is the challenge: Barack, you promised much, you have a resounding victory built on the politics of hope, and you have majorities in both Houses of Congress.

Typically, a president can achieve much in his first year in office and the opportunity to change America and the lives of disabled people in your country for the better dangles tantalisingly in front of you. America has in the past been a beacon for the rest of the world in developing independent living, passing the ADA and developing inclusive education. Here is a real chance to restore that reputation as a leader and, by signing the UN convention, become a respected part of the world community once again.

Today, the day after Barack Obama’s election as President, I am a convert to his politics of hope. But as an activist, and lifelong sceptic, myself and others will be keeping a close eye on the tangible results of his first year as President of the USA.

* www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/ and www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityPlanFactSheet.pdf

**Currently, states only have to provide institutional care. Disabled people under the CCA would have the right to live in the community