… to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand….And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.- President Elect Barack Obama
His full speech is here. No one man can fix the ills of a nation alone, nor can he repair alone the damage that has been done in this world as a result of American mismanagement and poor leadership. from his speech he knows this only too well. He doesnt have all the answers, and no-one will ever be the “perfect president” (unless you are David Palmer with Jack Bauer on your side….), but i wish him well.
I think I’ll light some fireworks tonight to celebrate
I deliberately read the full speech as text, rather than in audio or video, because I wanted to concentrate on the content, instead of being distracted by Obama’s personal charism and his rhetorical flourishes. I have to say that even so, hardened cynic that I am, I was deeply moved. God bless and protect him.
Aye. I just fear, cynic that I am, that he’ll go the same way as JFK and MLK. I hope & pray that will not be the case, but there are a lot of very bitter Americuns out there!
PS. David Palmer was the best President the USA never had!
Eamonn – I’m glad I’m not the only one. Although he is (in UK terms at least) centrist or even conservative, I think it is a huge step for the States to have elected him (and not because of skin colour) – for many he represents the unknown quantity and tendency towards the left that they fear. But they took a chance to trust in both his words and in his personality. I hope he lives up to the hype surrounding him and that his actions are as wise as his words, within his own context. had he been standing over here he would have had to have gone a lot further left in his social policy/foreign policy/education & health reforms for me to have happily voted for him.
Kenny – you’re not being cynical in the slightest, I think there is a huge risk of that course of action by bitter militants. I too hope and pray that it doesnt happen.
BTW – Didnt that happen to David Palmer anyway?
Agree very much, Ali. For a helpful comment on the differences between US and UK politics, go to http://www.bishopdavid.net/?p=958.
Interesting take on the election result: http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20081105_day_one/
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