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rfmcdonaldMany of the sentiments expressed in this article in regard to Obama's likely election strike me as fundamentally misguided.
After this election, the United States is going to remain the same hyperpower that it has always been, with a First World economy the size but much more integrated than the Eurozone's and a military of unmatched power and the sort of pervasive global cultural influence that can get under one's skin however it does get under one's skin. All these things about the United States are not going to change, and can't change barring a catastrophe that would surely take the rest of the world down with it. (Or, in fact, is taking the rest of the world down with it--poor Icelanders.)
Obama won't change it, since Obama is not a revolutionary. He's a northern liberal Democratic president who, probably, will take the United States into a centrist direction. Maybe, just maybe, the United States will adopt a scheme of universal health care, who knows? He is far, far from being the "Socialist" that McCain accuses him of being, and Obama's voiced support for military strikes in Pakistan--unilateral ones, maybe--suggests that in one crucial way he's not that different from Bush. (I'm still annoyed by Obama's election rhetoric about NAFTA, but I'll leave my dislike of politicians in large countries who advocate radical changes heedless of their effect on smaller and weaker neighbours out of this.)
I'll welcome Obama's election, certainly. I just don't think that it will change anything other than some of the fine details of the United States' relationship with the wider world. Obama, just like Bush, will be the president of a hyperpower willing to defend all of its varied interests in the wider world.
The world was riveted by the election drama unfolding Tuesday in the United States, inspired by the hope embodied by Barack Obama or simply relieved that — whoever wins — an administration that spawned Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay was coming to an end.
From Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the small town of Obama, Japan, the globe geared up to celebrate a fresh start for America after eight wearisome years of George W. Bush.
In Germany, where more than 200,000 flocked to see Obama this summer as he moved to burnish his foreign policy credentials during a trip to the Middle East and Europe, the election dominated television ticker crawls, newspaper headlines and Web sites.
Hundreds of thousands prepared to party through the night to watch the outcome of an election having an impact far beyond America's shores. Among the more irreverent festivities planned in Paris: a “Goodbye George” party to bid farewell to Bush.
“Like many French people, I would like Obama to win because it would really be a sign of change,” said Vanessa Doubine, shopping Tuesday on the Champs-Elysees. “I deeply hope for America's image that it will be Obama.”
Europeans had a sense of the momentous change that was about to unfold.
“America is electing a new president, but for the Germans, for Europeans, it is electing the next world leader,” said Alexander Rahr, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations.
“We see new challenges coming up, not only Islamic extremism, but a newly resurgent Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea — everywhere there are fires,” he said. “And we, as Europeans, can't solve these problems without America. A world without American leadership is, for most Europeans, a world of chaos.”
Obama-mania was evident not only across Europe, where millions geared up for all-night vigils, but also in much of the Islamic world, where Muslims expressed hope that the Democrat would seek compromise rather than confrontation.
The Bush administration alienated Muslims by mistreating prisoners at its detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison — human rights violations also condemned worldwide.
“I hope Obama wins (because) of the need of the world to see the U.S. represent a more cosmopolitan or universal political attitude,” said Rais Yatim, the foreign minister of mostly Muslim Malaysia.
“The new president will have an impact on the economic and political situation in my country,” said Muhammad al-Thaheri, 48, a civil servant in Saudi Arabia. Like so many around the world, he was rooting for Mr. Obama “because he will change the path the U.S. is on under Bush.”
Nizar al-Kortas, a columnist for Kuwait's Al-Anbaa newspaper, saw an Obama victory as “a historic step to change the image of the arrogant American administration to one that is more acceptable in the world.”
[. . .]
Kenyans made their allegiances clear: Scores packed churches on Tuesday to pray for Mr. Obama, whose late father was born in the East African nation, and hailed the candidate — himself born in Hawaii — as a “son of the soil.”
“Tonight we are not going to sleep,” said Valentine Wambi, 23, a student at the University of Nairobi. “It will be celebrations throughout.”
Kenyans believe an Obama victory wouldn't change their lives much, but that hasn't stopped them from splashing his picture on minibuses and selling T-shirts with his name and likeness. Kenyans were planning to gather around radios and TV sets starting Tuesday night as the results come in.
“We will feast if Obama wins,” said Robert Rutaro, a university president in neighboring Uganda. “We will celebrate by marching on the streets of Kampala and hold a big party later on.”
In the sleepy Japanese coastal town of Obama — which translates as “little beach” — images of him adorned banners along a main shopping street, and preparations for an election day victory party were in full swing.
After this election, the United States is going to remain the same hyperpower that it has always been, with a First World economy the size but much more integrated than the Eurozone's and a military of unmatched power and the sort of pervasive global cultural influence that can get under one's skin however it does get under one's skin. All these things about the United States are not going to change, and can't change barring a catastrophe that would surely take the rest of the world down with it. (Or, in fact, is taking the rest of the world down with it--poor Icelanders.)
Obama won't change it, since Obama is not a revolutionary. He's a northern liberal Democratic president who, probably, will take the United States into a centrist direction. Maybe, just maybe, the United States will adopt a scheme of universal health care, who knows? He is far, far from being the "Socialist" that McCain accuses him of being, and Obama's voiced support for military strikes in Pakistan--unilateral ones, maybe--suggests that in one crucial way he's not that different from Bush. (I'm still annoyed by Obama's election rhetoric about NAFTA, but I'll leave my dislike of politicians in large countries who advocate radical changes heedless of their effect on smaller and weaker neighbours out of this.)
I'll welcome Obama's election, certainly. I just don't think that it will change anything other than some of the fine details of the United States' relationship with the wider world. Obama, just like Bush, will be the president of a hyperpower willing to defend all of its varied interests in the wider world.
