shiva

well i couldnt stand bush so anyone was better BUT with Obama (and perhaps i'm caught in the hype) maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel. he has a hell of a lot of expectation to live upto and i hope he can meet that expectation and from our point of view in the middle east it will be interesting to see what happens. At the very least he is a president who understands islam and that there are lands beyond the atlantic and pacific oceans.



if nothing else america has come a long way with his election.



still reckon he has a only a 50/50 chance of living until the re election campaign

Nickel

if nothing else america has come a long way with his election.



still reckon he has a only a 50/50 chance of living until the re election campaign[/QUOTE]

Yes, we have come a very long way. Many of us Americans have renewed hope in our country with the election of Barack Obama as our new President.

But, I too fear he will not see a second term - there are too many "radical/fundamental/ - ok, friggin' crazy Americans out there who just can't fathom someone other than a WASP becoming our Prez.

He has a big job ahead of him - one he will not entirely fulfill. But he will give it his best shot and we Americans will be much more enriched because of his trying.

Jeeper

I just hope there's enough optimism about him and the states for a while that might give the USD some more strength - even just for a short while.

Confucius

He's The Man...Yes, He can...

still.unsure

Yes, we have come a very long way. Many of us Americans have renewed hope in our country with the election of Barack Obama as our new President.

But, I too fear he will not see a second term - there are too many "radical/fundamental/ - ok, friggin' crazy Americans out there who just can't fathom someone other than a WASP becoming our Prez.

He has a big job ahead of him - one he will not entirely fulfill. But he will give it his best shot and we Americans will be much more enriched because of his trying.[/QUOTE]

hang on, these were also the same factions that meant that he wouldn't have been elected in the first place. (all the great, "deep down america just can't have a black president" observations of the election campaign). it's difficult, but after 8 years of bush and the (dare i say) 'extremism' that came with, the rest of the world now has to try and separate that from what americans actually are. yes, there's nutters in the hills. always have been, always will be. the last president to get shot was reagan and that was some 20 paranoia-filled years ago. am pretty sure he'll make it through his first 4 (and maybe 8?) years of presidency.

what he may find is his biggest challenge is who the republicans now put up against him in the next election, and that the US economy may be in such a poor state at that time, that all the good-will/anti-bush momentum has erroded away and he's seen as the incumbent and protagonist of the economic mess, not the inheritor of it. i hope he gets two terms; he'll need them to try and bring the US back

Spugsy

hang on, these were also the same factions that meant that he wouldn't have been elected in the first place. (all the great, "deep down america just can't have a black president" observations of the election campaign). it's difficult, but after 8 years of bush and the (dare i say) 'extremism' that came with, the rest of the world now has to try and separate that from what americans actually are. yes, there's nutters in the hills. always have been, always will be. the last president to get shot was reagan and that was some 20 paranoia-filled years ago. am pretty sure he'll make it through his first 4 (and maybe 8?) years of presidency.

what he may find is his biggest challenge is who the republicans now put up against him in the next election, and that the US economy may be in such a poor state at that time, that all the good-will/anti-bush momentum has erroded away and he's seen as the incumbent and protagonist of the economic mess, not the inheritor of it. i hope he gets two terms; he'll need them to try and bring the US back[/QUOTE]
"Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk,
Martin Luther King walked so Barrack Obama could run
and Barrack Obama runs so we can all fly"

lionheart

Not so sure he knows a great deal about Islam as he was a young child I believe when he lived in Indonesia and is now a devout Christian by all accounts.

Eva

I'm really really excited about the advent of the big O(subtext-its bin a while!).He has waited it out in an impressive & understated manner -gathering -imho-more support from the wall sitters/undecided. He remains passionate, committed and vocational about the task ahead- and no sign of the blatant personal powerseeker(that some become) yet.
I do think sadly, he will be subject of some target practice but he knew that was more than an evens bet at the Blackjack tables.Let's hope the wheels don't turn to Russian Roulette and at the end of his time he is allowed to walk into his twilight years with a sense of satisfaction,fulfilment, contentment and pride....

Tis a new dawn, a new day and it's feelin good.

Charismatic

Electing a black chap was acceptable, in fact many churches turned to Obama as being more representative of their interests in government.

A follower of the Jeffersonian democracy he is not .

Ethos83

Decent fellow regardless of his political or religious beliefs. Very intelligent and it will be interesting to see how he handles his current challenges.

However, other than removing US troops from Iraq, do not expect any radical changes to the US's Middle East platform. Obama is, above all, the US president, and as a pragmatic man his instincts will tell him to say polite things about the Middle East when the next crisis emerges, but stay well out of it. There ain't going to be any serious peace brokering between Israel and Palestine led by Obama, nor will there be real reconcilation attempts with Iran.

BangleMan

Wise words from Bruce Springsteen on Obama and the hopes that rest with him and his Presidency....

What does it mean to be an American? What are our duties, our responsibilities, our reasonable expectations when we live in a free society?

I saw myself less as a partisan for any particular political party, than as an advocate for a set of ideas. Economic and social justice, America as a positive influence around the world. Truth, transparency and integrity in government. The right of every American to a job, a living wage, to be educated in a decent school, to a life filled with the dignity of work, promise, and the sanctity of home. These are the things that make a life, that build and define a society. These are the things we think of on the deepest level, when we refer to our freedoms. Today those freedoms have been damaged, and curtailed by eight years of a thoughtless, reckless, and morally adrift administration.

I spent most of my life as a musician measuring the distance between the American dream and American reality. For many Americans who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that dream and their reality has never been greater or more painful. I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and work. I believe he understands in his heart the cost of that distance in blood and suffering in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president he would work to bring that dream back to life, and into the lives of many of our fellow Americans, who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning.

In my job, I travel around the world, and occasionally play in big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I continue to find everywhere I go that America remains a repository for people's hopes and desires. That despite the terrible erosion of our standing around the world, for many we remain a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down. That is something only we can do, and we're not going to let that happen.

This administration will be leaving office, dumping in our laps the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis. Our house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power, influence or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, pragmatism, toughness and faith. But most of all it needs us. You and me. All a nation has that keeps it from coming apart is the social contract between its' citizens. Whatever grace God has deemed to impart to us resides in our connections with one another, in honoring the life, the hopes, the dreams, of the man or woman up the street, or across town. That's where we make our small claim upon heaven. In recent years that contract has been shredded and as we look around today, it is shredding before our eyes. But today we are at the crossroads.

I'm honored to be here on the same stage as Senator Obama. From the beginning, there has been something in Senator Obama that has called upon our better angels, I suspect, because he has had a life where he has so often had to call upon his. We're going to need all the angels we can get on the hard road ahead. Senator Obama helped us rebuild our house big enough for the dreams of all our citizens. For how well we accomplish this task will tell us what it means to be an American in the new century, what's at stake, and what it means to live in a free society. So I don't know about you, but I want my country back, I want my dream back, I want my America back. Now is the time to stand together with Barack Obama the millions of Americans that are hungry for a new day, roll up our sleeves and come on up for the rising.

Eva

great oratory skills but rather underwhelming content....

Areatha is Queen.

DaWarrior

If he's as good as everyone thinks, I just hope he doesn't get a bullet in the head...

Confucius

New hobby???

Confucius

I'll email you a prayer, make sure you forward it to 20 people in the first 30 seconds...