19 December 2008
	Chalk and cheese revisited David Phaho, Pretoria

In his comparison of US president-elect Barack Obama and ANC president Jacob Zuma (Editor's Note December 5), the editor rightly points out why SA cannot produce an Obama. Over and above Obama's charisma, exotic racial background and nomadic upbringing is the fact that he exemplifies the ruthless imperatives of natural selection. Societies which tend to succeed and thrive are those that embrace meritocracy, an issue that is not part of our national political discourse. In a recent op-ed column in the New York Times, David Brooks remarked that Obama's incoming administration "will be a valedictocracy - rule by those who graduate first in their high school classes and who are twice as smart as the poor reporters who have to cover them, three times if you include the columnists". Trying times such as we are having in this country call for a more credible and intelligent political leadership. The Americans illustrated this by handing Obama a resounding victory over a formidable and highly regarded opponent. It is early days but if Obama and his cerebral "team of rivals" get it right, we might have a front-row seat to one of the greatest administrations in US history. This is good news for all of us.