She Came with Flowers in her Hair

For those of us who like concrete symbolism of progress, little could have trumped yesterday’s meeting between the Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi and President Obama in the Oval Office. Less than two years following her release from house arrest, Suu Kyi has become a globetrotting advocate for her country, urging Western powers to reconsider longtime economic sanctions that have kept Burma in isolation. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Laureate and newly-minted member of parliament, is the most unlikely, and therefore most convincing, ambassador for Burma.

Since the inauguration of Thein Sein as President in 2010, reforms have taken off at a dizzying rate, albeit with some major and continuing hiccups along the way–notably the ongoing civil conflicts in areas such as the northern state of Kachin. The road to democracy, if that’s indeed where Burma is headed, is bound to have major bumps and wayward turns. Burma has no adequate civil institutions to speak of, as the military brutally controlled all facets of the politico-civil sphere for the majority of the last fifty years.

But progress must be rewarded, and the Obama administration will likely do so by lifting some if not all sanctions on Burma in the coming months. In a week that saw setbacks to American interests in countries from Tunisia to Indonesia, the administration is happy to grasp at the good tidings brought by the tireless champion of Burma. David Axelrod might even ask her to stick around to tape a campaign ad.