It’s been 12 years and a few months since a 47-year-old African American became the 44th president of the United States, making history and bringing hope to not only his country but the entire world.

Today (August 4), that man, Barack Hussein Obama, turns 60, reminding us how the years have flown by and that we are all getting so much older with each passing day.

But even though time appears to have gone by so quickly, there is no ignoring the fact that so much has happened since Obama became president, notably the vanquishing of Osama bin Laden and the rise of Donald Trump.

But with Trump escorted out of the Oval Office at American voters’ behest, and Obama’s one-time second in command Joe Biden left to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the 44th president today faces a sad, sad reality.

Obama has had to announce the scaling back of plans for the celebration of his 60th due to the rapidly spreading and highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.

The outdoor event, which was scheduled to take place this weekend, had been in the works for months and planned in line with public health guidelines and COVID safeguards.

But, according to his spokeswoman Hannah Hankins, “due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the President and Mrs [Michelle] Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends.”

Hankins said the former president was appreciative of others sending their birthday wishes from afar and “looks forward to seeing people soon”.

PLANS AT MARTHA’S VINEYARD

Obama had planned to mark his milestone birthday at his Martha’s Vineyard home this Saturday with hundreds of former Obama administration officials, Democratic donors and celebrities, according to reports.

Stars including George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey had been among the expected attendees.

But the former president, who’s planned gathering had drawn media attention as the US once again grapples with rising COVID-19 cases that have pushed hospitals to capacity and caused some local officials to re-impose some restrictions, now has to do what he has always done – set the tone for what is the responsible thing to do.