Here we are! November 4, 2008. A day people around the world have been anticipating eagerly.
Today the world will vote for Barack Obama. Well Algeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq are leaning towards McCain, according to the Global Electoral College featured on the Economist.com, but those countries are in the minority. It is fair to say that the world at large is intrigued and excited about the prospect of an Obama presidency and if people all over the world could vote, they would vote for Barack.
In an interview on Worldfocus, a nightly news program and website report that seeks to “make foreign news less foreign”, Gideon Rose, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs Magazine, calls the U.S. election the most watched election around the world. Rose explains this in part by saying that people around the world “are curious about Obama and they’re fascinated by the idea that you could have a black man as president of the United States and he seems such an unusual candidate that wouldn’t have risen to the top in any other country.”
The Economist magazine gave this ringing endorsement to the senator from Illinois: “In terms of painting a brighter future for America and the world, Mr. Obama has produced the more compelling and detailed portrait. He has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent.”
What is it exactly that excites people around the globe? For some insight, here are the voices of some global citizens:
“This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime,” said Sunila Patel, 62, a widow encountered on the streets of New Delhi. “A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different.” Washington Post Foreign Service, June 5, 2008
From an Italian who is married to an American: “I love the US very much… we live in a globalized world… when I am outside the US, I always want to defend it… It is time for America to restore its moral standing in the world… Barack Obama is the only one who can bring about that change” Science Sense blogspot, May 5, 2008
“Obama doesn’t belong to any particular kin. And that’s his greatest strength. America never has had such a candidate. Barack Obama is much more than potentially the first black president of the United States. He is, by his personal experience, a citizen of the world. He needs to listen to the other to better understand himself. He is not afraid of the other, because the other is in him. If he wants to belong to the world, he has to reach out. That’s his gift to the world. And there is no better gift that America can present to global politics at this time.” Jurriaan Kamp, September 26, 2008
“His victory would be a victory for all of us — a victory for education, for our struggle and for the black person who never gives up,” said Brazilian Zumbi dos Palmares University rector Jose Vicente. france24.com, August 8, 2008
Andreas Wernicke, 27, a German computer salesman, said the idea of an African-American US president was “just totally cool”, if it happened, he said, “you could tell yourself that, yes, the world does advance”. guardian.co.uk, July 24, 2008
Today or tomorrow it is likely that Andreas and millions of others around the world will be able to tell themselves that “the world does advance.”
Lord knows it needs to!
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