I woke up, last Monday, at a suburban Holiday Inn outside Houston, Texas to hear that Osama Bin Laden was dead. I had been in the US both times when George Bush got elected, and on 9-11, so I knew what to expect.

Or so I though.

Outside my door, I found USA today, one of the most populist newspapers of the country. To my surprise, the front page didn’t feature the World Trade Center, stars-and-stripes or some other expression of revengist machismo, but a simple Osama Bin Laden portrait, with the headline: “Osama Bin Laden is Dead, Obama says”.  The same newspaper, on the next day, covered the same story, choosing some very interesting diction for it: “Reflection”, “relief”, “reality”.  Nowhere to be found, was the “bring it on” attitude that had marked the Bush era.

Carl Rove twitted about the news. Although he closed his tweet with “USA!USA!”, he remained measured. Even Fox network, which is ideologically positioned on the far right of Dick Cheney, maintained a reasonable tone, despite Geraldo’s ridiculous theatrics.

There were people in the streets, of course, and USA Today did mention “elation”, as there was also some jingoist machismo in the initial reactions, but nothing that would remind one of the tension and nationalism that had been rife during the Bush era. Even the t-shirts sold outside Union Station in DC were more reserved than the “Die!Die!Die!” t-shirts that featured Timothy McVeigh a few years ago.

Watching the US in the last few years, the observer can identify two main characteristics: First, how deeply divided the country is  –both its polity and its society-  and how difficult it is to bridge the rift. In fact, it is more divided than ever, and divided in a different way from, say, the 60’s. Second, how awkwardly nervous it had become since 9-11 and how pervasive is the sense of fear in a country that gladly sacrifices freedom –and dignity- for security.

This is partly why I was so surprised to see how measured the reaction was to a piece of news that Americans had been hoping to hear for about a decade. The main reason, I submit, why the country remained to calmly elated at the news, had a lot to do with Barak Obama’s address to the people on Sunday night, when he informed them that bin Laden is dead.

Obama had achieved what he had identified during his campaign as his prime goal in the “war on terror”.  And yet he remained calm, measured and prudent. He did give the sense of satisfaction and pride that he wanted to broadcast, and he did underline the fundamental American belief that when the US decides to do something, it can achieve its goals. There was even an element of American exceptionalism and manifest destiny in his appearance. But, despite this,  he rmanaged to remain aloof from the celebratory stance that had characterized his predecessor. Remember “mission accomplished?”

Even whe he and VP Biden addressed the troops on Thursday, the sense of pride did not mingle with a sense of mandate. And I think that this is a fundamental point. I remember Ronald Reagan’s funeral, and the obituary read by his son, Michael. He talked about the attempt against his father’s life, saying that Reagan saw his survival as proof that he had a mission to accomplish. But –hear this- he noted that his father saw this “as a responsibility, not a mandate”. There are the very two concepts that the Bush administration treated as synonymous. The two concepts, however, are fundamentally different. This is the implicit but very real message that Obama gave this week.

Obama placed the bar very high with the way he announced the news. He showed respect to his predecessor, whom he briefed when the operation was over. He avoided nationalist jingoism and excessive celebration. H remained calm and measured, if visibly relieved and clearly pleased, and he told Americans that the war on terror is far from over.

The posture he maintained drained the momentum from the nationalist wing of the US –which is, let’s not forget- a large one. By so doing, he imposed a sense of prudence, calm and seriousness. 

At a time when Europe and the world –including, significantly- Cyprus, are suffering from a severe leadership deficit, Obama proved himself to be a rare commodity. Irrespectively of what one might feel about the US or Americans, we all should take a close look at a leader who may have placed the bar hopelessly too high for his own good in his campaign, but still continues to inspire with the quality of  his leadership.

PS- The original, in Greek, is a little different, this a kind of “English version” of the same thoughts…