Let’s hope it is the change for the better that it appears to be – for all of us.

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Lets hope he can deliver, after all Bliar & Clown promised change for the better!!!
Look at us now, I prey the Americans don’t fail.

At least the troops may be home soon!

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brilliant

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Well, I’d kinda agree Derek, but I don’t want to be churlish at this particular moment – I mean the guys just won and he’s all happy an’ all. I mean, look at the picture, he’s smiling and waving. Gee, way to bring a fellah down.

Anywho, onto the article – am I right in thinking that Barack is NOT the first black president anyway, he’s the first mixed-race but predominately black skinned although largely brought up in a white background president ? It is a bit of a mouthful, so I guess it’s easiest if you’re feeling lazy to pick on the colour of his skin when describing him – not that journalists are ever lazy.

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This comment is from an American citizen that just spent two weeks in the Shrewsbury area with my British cousins. The Bush Administration has been an embarrassment to the American people. Barack Obama with Joe Biden will be more open to world involvement. There will be change……

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This is a victory for the public relations industry who have sold to the US public a media spectacle. So one of the wings of the elitist business party has won with empty rhetoric about ” change “. Just say change enough and people might believe it.
Well done to the mainstream media who after years of support for the Bush extremists and their mission to bring freedom to the world have now jumped ship to Obama and are doing thier bit to re-brand the US.
Obama represents no fundamental change in policy.
I feel all the talk about the colour of Obama skin has been a distraction from debates regarding his actual polices.
Expect plenty of gushing from the BBC & ITN.
Will there be an up-rising of all the fascist white supremacist boneheads in the US. I hope not.

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merc said: Nov 5th, 2008 at 8:04 am
“Sensational is a much overused word, except in this case. A message of hope and a lesson in confronting fear and bigotry that should send our BNP back to the bottom of the pond where they deserve to be.”

A bit of a silly and naive comment, merc. Writing as a BNP supporter, I can honestly say that I wasn’t that bothered who won. Neither candidate had much in the way of substance, anyway.
There seems about as much political difference between McCain and Obama, as there is between Brown and Cameron.
So in the long run, will it really matter who won?

As for the subject of race – It’s the so-called liberals who’ve made more of an issue of this than anyone else.

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Brilliant news for the US and the world, change is here.

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I hope he does well for America but I really can’t see him lasting… I can see a JFK happening and then a Movie made!!!!

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“Sensational” “the change is here” “history is made”
Er – How and why, exactly?

I think a few too many of us are getting a carried away with all this media inspired drama.
Calm down and stop acting like Americans!

A question to Merc (as he was the first here to bring up the subject of bigotry ) – The BBC reports that 94% of African Americans voted for Obama – Do you think that there might have been some racism at play here?

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As an old salopian in Arizona I have suffered through 2 years of presidential campaigning and had almost reached a point where I didn’t care who won provided it was over.

Thank heaven it is over even though the decision is a bad one driven by 75 million LIV’s (less informed voters)who voted based on various prejudices and a scant understanding of actual policies and politics.

Abraham Lincoln said “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong” – this is Obama’s goal. To take more $’s from the 5% of the population who pay 95% of the tax in the US and prop-up the other 95% of the population. Somewhat misguided.

I could rant on forever about the almost $1 billion (yes billion !!) that was spent on Obama’s campaign, the fact that the USA was founded on capitalism not socialism, that all politicians from Chicago are crooked, ….. but I won’t.

Finally, I was amused that in his acceptance speech he started back-pedaling by saying that his policies may not be in place in one year or even one term (4 years), everyone needs to be patient. Whatever !!

Change has already happened let’s see if it turns out as well as presented by Mr Obama in the long run. I for one sincerely hope it does.

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Peter,
I’m glad we agree. There is no racism here – only unity. But when 97% (not 95%, as I first stated) African Americans vote for Obama, it can’t all be down to loyality to the Democrats. Voting on racial lines did play a part. Do I perceive this as ‘racist’? No, I don’t.
Far from being ‘worried’, I actually welcome and admire such unity.

Also – Do you find it ironic that the liberal media (who usually downgrade the issue of race to the point of ignoring it) are the ones making the making the biggest deal out of Obama’s skin tone?

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Peter said:

“The vast majority of African Americans have always voted Democrat – many were Hilary Clinton supporters too.”

Many Ku Klux Klan members also voted Democrat, the Southern Democrats (or “Dixiecrats”) used to be notorious – anyone remember Governor George Wallace of Alabama.

And of course there are no black racists – never heard of Louis Farakhan, Malcolm X, and of course, more recently, Obama’s own favourite preacher Jeremiah Wright?

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this socialist clown will ruin america and ruin the world with his leftie ways, i think the yanks should hang their head in shame that now they have a commie running their country like we have to suffer in the UK too, lets get these lot out, the economy is in trouble we need good old fashioned conservative economic policies to kick start the good times again

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Rob, The ‘Dixiecrats’ split from the Democratic party in 1948 and disappeared from view. Hardly direclty relevant to the voting in today’s elections, I would suggest.

Wallace was an interesting character. If there ever was a politician who blatantly changed his views to gain votes, it was he. He was in turn quite liberal (for the South, at least) in his views towards black people, and later became hard-line when beaten by a segregationist candidate. Eventually, following a religious conversion, he apologised for his earlier views and became very much against segregation.

Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan were extremists, of that there’s no doubt. They certainly had racist tendencies – I’m not one of those people who suggests that black people can’t be racists – racism is odious regardless of the perpetrator.

Wright was indeed Obama’s former pastor (clearly not his favourite). Obama was quick to denounce Wright when it became clear that he had made controversial remarks on racial lines. Obama has now resigned his membership of that church.

So why the big fuss over Obama being black? Of course it isn’t important in terms of the individual, but let’s not forget that even 40 years ago black people struggled to get a vote in the US. There are people alive there whose grandparents were born into slavery.

What’s important and historical is not the event itself, but the progress that it symbolises. I don’t begrudge the Americans a period of celebration of that progress, even if it does lead to a degree of rose-tinted spectacle use when contemplating the future.

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great for the rest of the world to have someone intellectual and rational we can do business with in the white house again

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John, just to digress onto our own national politics for a second. From Tony Bliar on the subject of the UK economy, “one of the main aspects of our economy will be based on consumer spending and consumer access to easy money, over regulation will stifle the economy and it will not happen”.
If you recall, shortly after they came into power, Bliar set up the FSA to regulate the Financial Services Sector. Taking away the regulatory function of the Bank of England at the same time. He then muzzled the FSA and effectively there has been little or no “regulation” of the Financial Services Sector until the present crises exploded. All we hear now, after the horse has bolted is the need for “regulation, regulation, regulation”. I think we have heard something similar to this before. And, with regard to your comment “what do you think got us into this present mess”, I will tell you, Bliar, Brown and Darling, they have had 11 years to get the economy and finances of the country into their “mould” and way of doing things. They have done absolutely nothing except, spend, spend, spend on the public services – all on borrowed money and, at the same time have encouraged “consumer purchasing” in line with Bliars philosophy again based on “easy money” which means, to you and I, “consumer debt” based on credit cards, bank and finance house loans, easy, high % (percent) mortgages etc.
The creed and philosophy for the wild spending under this government, both personal and governmental all based on “borrowing” (check what our current budget and national debt is and it is likely to get much worse) came directly from Bliar and Brown. Nobody else is responsible, they allowed the entanglement of our economy and finances with those of US Banks and now the chickens are coming home to roost. Let’s have no hypocracy by blaming Thatcher, many years have passed since then and Master Gordon, as I say has had eleven (11) years to alter things if he wished to.

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I do hope, though, that now people will start to become more active in politics and to press for the progressive changes, which Obama articulates so sure-footedly.

Without mass activism, US citizens will not be able to hold him to account on his promises to withdraw from Iraq and reduce the USA’s CO2 emissions by 80%.

Obama may inspire people to take on the cynics, but only ordinary people can create the force for change.

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