There are those moments in history that we remember very clearly. The day JFK was shot, the day Princess Diana died in that horrific car accident, and of course the day when terrorists attacked the World Trade Centre towers on September 11, 2001. Those days are etched in our memories. We remember exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing. Today is one of those days.
Today has seen the election of the first African-American President of the United States. Never in my lifetime did I think this would happen. The 4th November, 2008, will go down as ‘one of those days in history.’ I am still shaking my head and thinking it could not be real. Seeing President-Elect Obama (still getting used to that) stand before 75,000 people in Grant Park in Chicago, and claim victory brought more than just a tear to my eye. This is beyond amazing, beyond incredible. This is beyond what anybody thought would happen.
I remember talking to an American in a bar in Bangkok, Thailand around mid 2005, not long after George Bush scared people into giving him another 4 years of power. At that stage, we all thought Hillary Clinton was a shoe in. I asked him whether she would win, and he said, “I can’t see Americans going from that far right to that far left in one election.” Well, look where we are now! How far left could you possibly go!
Obama’s acceptance speech was serious, almost sombre. It demonstrated that this will be a different kind of President; a President who means what he says. He knows the enormous challenges facing the United States, and he knows its his job to face them, and tackle them head on. He wanted this poison chalice, now he must drink from it.
The road ahead will be long, the climb will be steep, we will not get there in one year or even in one term,” he said.
“But tonight I have never been so hopeful that we will get there. Block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.
“This victory alone is not the change we seek, it is only the chance for us to make that change.”
Never have I heard a victory speech that seems to play down all the smiles, the ‘pats on the back’, the gloating. This man means business, and he is ready, as they have said all through the campaign, ‘from Day One.’
Statistically, it has been said that the south of the United States did not go for Barack Obama as much as they did for John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000. No problem comprehending that one. That’s purely and simply a racially driven preference. But what is interesting to note is that Barack Obama gained a higher percentage of votes in most of the states he lost than Gore or Kerry did. Yes, McCain beat him handsomely, but Obama did better than his predecessors. That is a positive sign for the 2012 race.
So, let’s bask in this wonderful victory. The whole world is looking at President-elect Obama with a smile and the look of hope in their eye. Trust me, in 4 years time, this world will be a much better place…’from sea to shining sea’
Enjoy your day…I certainly will now.
