Of John F Kennedy and the audacity of hope

John Mwazemba

Obama should move into the White House with powerful exorcists in tow. He moves into a haunted house; with the spirits of George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove running up and down every corridor.

I digress but Obama will find the traditional letter from his predecessor in the Oval Office’s "Resolute Desk" on the day he officially takes over office. We learn of this traditional letter to the next president from former US President Bill Clinton’s memoirs, My Life. In the book, Clinton also flauntingly lifts the veil to take one reverential tour of the White House, providing nuanced and intricate behind-the-scenes workings. Clinton captures, almost teary-eyed, his last day in that powerful house. He writes, "Hillary and I didn’t want to sleep; we just wanted to keep strolling from room to room. We felt as honoured to be living in the White House on our last night as we had when we came home after our first inaugural balls. I never ceased to be thrilled by it all…