TransGriot Note: One of the more asinine comments I heard expressed early in the presidential primary season was the laughably ignorant assertion that electing Barack Ovama to our country's highest political office would lead to 'embarrassment' around the world.
Hell, the current inarticulate dumbass who stole two elections has cornered the world market in bringing shame, guilt and embarrassment to America's good name and standing around the world.
Judging by these snippets of editorial pages around the world, these international writers seem to suggest that Sen. Obama becoming our next president would be a huge improvement and go a long way toward repairing our reputation around the world.
Ray Hartley,
Editor,
The Times, South Africa: "Barack Obama has captured the Democratic Party's nomination for the position of U.S. president to be decided later this year. His ascendancy has raised the hope that the United States will finally assume its role as a responsible superpower that will extract itself from the conflict in Iraq. … There can be no doubt that Africa is celebrating his victory, which signals the long overdue deracialization of American politics. ...
Should he become president, it will go a long way toward removing racial loyalty from politics. … The question that remains is: Will he be able to deliver on his promises, or will he succumb to powerful interests?"
The Times,
London, in an editorial:
"Obama … has already rekindled America's faith in its prodigious powers of reinvention — and the world's admiration for America. … It has been a bruising journey. … But today at least the tide of history seems to be with him. Win or lose in November, he will have gone farther than anyone in history to bury the toxic enmity that fueled America's Civil War and has haunted it ever since. … Details of the delegate count no longer matter. This moment's significance is its resounding proof of the truism about America as a land of opportunity: Obama's opportunity to graduate from Harvard and take Washington by storm; the opportunity that the world's most responsive democratic system gives its voters to be inspired by an unknown; the opportunity that outsiders now have to reassess the superpower that too many of them love to hate."
Schmuel Rosner,
columnist and U.S. correspondent, Haaretz, Israel:
"Obama's victory is not surprising. The epic duel with (Hillary) Clinton gave everyone, including past and present Israeli officials dealing with the United States, time to prepare. … AIPAC's (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) wily and experienced lobbyists predict the first year of an Obama presidency will be challenging for Israel, not because he has bad intentions, but because they might be too good. Until then, Israel will unwillingly be at the heart of the storm of the presidential race. … There are enough reasons to prefer (John) McCain to Obama, or Clinton to Obama, regarding their intended policy toward Iran. But even those who oppose him should put aside their political preferences, fear of the future, and their pros and cons list for just a moment. Now is the time to take in Obama's astounding political victory, if one can still feel awe for anything in this day and age. Against all the odds, the campaign broke down the boundaries of bias and race, and brought out voters to cast their ballots. They may be naive, but they are not indifferent. They may be a little childish, but they aren't cynical."
The Times of India,
in an editorial: "Finally, Sen. Obama is the one who will lead the Democratic charge for the White House. … With the stage set for Obama's face-off with McCain, campaign season promises to get tougher and meaner. … As far as India is concerned, Obama is perhaps the least known for his views. McCain and Clinton have a clear position on where New Delhi fits in the emerging world. In that scheme, India ranks pretty high. Obama appears to share no such vision, at least not yet. But, irrespective of whether eventually McCain wins or Obama does, there's no denying that a page has been turned in America's history."
Alphayo Otiento,
journalist, in Daily Nation, Kenya:
"A core element of that Obama message has always been hope and inspiration. This is the one political message that simultaneously persuades swing voters and motivates mobilizable voters who rarely go to the polls. … Obama showed that appeals to division — whether from elements that stirred up fear that a 'black candidate couldn't win,' or from his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright — could be overcome by America's overwhelming hunger for unity. … Now it will be up to every Democrat, every progressive, to take advantage of this historic opportunity to make Obama the American president who leads the world into a new progressive era of unprecedented possibilities."
