Obama’s core economic team has been revealed to consist of New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, Larry Summers as White House economic director, Peter Orszag as head of the Congressional Budget Office and Christina Romer as head of the Council of Economic Advisers.

These are some very interesting picks.

Geithner is of course already well known and respected as head of the NY Fed.

Orszag has an interest in health policy and is a protege of the fiscally conservative centrist Robert Rubin. He also has a blog.

Larry Summers of course needs little introduction as he was a centre of a little storm in a tea cup over factually correct comments made about differences in the variances of male and female IQ though interpreted in a sufficiently loose way as to make him fodder for PC activists. He is also an economic rationalist par excellence willing to go wherever his economic logic takes him, a trait which also landed him in a spot of bother years ago when he wrote a (again logically correct) memo arguing that pollution has a lower opportunity cost in developing economies.

Romer is a very interesting pick indeed as she and her husband are well known for their work in New Growth Theory and the impact of taxes on macroeconomic:

That the Romers are so well-regarded by their peers of both parties has many economists cheered that the Obama administration is going for the top minds in the field rather than those who adhere most closely to party lines. The Romers’ work has even been cited by Republicans as supporting the idea that tax increases negatively impact economic output.
Much of Ms. Romer’s work has been on macroeconomic history – studying, for example, the causes of the Great Depression, something that proves quite valuable now as the U.S. economy faces down a similar crisis.

Here is her contribution to the Encylopaedia of Economics on business cycles:

The empirical evidence is strongly on the side of the view that deviations from full employment are often the result of spending shocks. Monetary policy, in particular, appears to have played a crucial role in causing business cycles in the United States since World War II. For example, the severe recessions of both the early 1970s and the early 1980s were directly attributable to decisions by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. On the expansionary side, the inflationary booms of the mid-1960s and the late 1970s were both at least partly due to monetary ease and low interest rates. The role of money in causing business cycles is even stronger if one considers the era before World War II. Many of the worst prewar depressions, including the recessions of 1908, 1921, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, were to a large extent the result of monetary contraction and high real interest rates. In this earlier era, however, most monetary swings were engendered not by deliberate monetary policy but by financial panics, policy mistakes, and international monetary developments.

Of interest to libertarians, one of her papers co-authored with her husband is sceptical of the starve the beast (PDF) theory:

The hypothesis that decreases in taxes reduce future government spending is often cited as a reason for cutting taxes. However, because taxes change for many reasons, examinations of the relationship between overall measures of taxation and subsequent spending are plagued by problems of reverse causation and omitted variable bias. To derive more reliable estimates, this paper examines the behavior of government expenditures following legislated tax changes that narrative sources suggest are largely uncorrelated with other factors affecting spending. The results provide no support for the hypothesis that tax cuts restrain government spending; indeed, the point estimates suggest that tax cuts may increase spending. The results also indicate that the main effect of tax cuts on the government budget is to induce subsequent legislated tax increases. Examination of four episodes of major tax cuts reinforces these conclusions

Update:

The first knives are out. Here is a whinge from the left wing Nation:

Not a single, solitary, actual dyed-in-the-wool progressive has, as far as I can tell, even been mentioned for a position in the new administration. Not one. Remember this is the movement that was right about Iraq, right about wage stagnation and inequality, right about financial deregulation …[etc]

And yet, no one who comes from the part of American political and intellectual life that has given birth to all of these ideas is anywhere to be found within miles of the Obama cabinet thus far. WTF?

Sit back and enjoy the fun. And also check out the comments thread below that Nation piece.

One from the time capsule - here’s Lefty-Kim from 2 weeks ago engaging in some scoffing:

Most of this speculation - and the accompanying predictions that Obama may be a steady as she goes moderate - is just that. It’s basically worthless, except for what it reveals about the politics of those doing the predicting. We don’t know exactly how Obama will govern. We do know that he’s stated that big challenges will require bold measures. And we do know that an agenda of de facto universal healthcare, economic revival and redressing the plight of middle and working class voters is what he won on. That’s surprisingly radical in the American context. And this election saw a lot of the anti-government rhetoric Reagan ran into town with finally kicked to the curb.

In denial or prescient? Only time will tell …

Take the world of literary prizes, the season of which is at its height every November, after the yearly – and plentiful – start of the literary calendar. It is often caricatured as a combat area for a few market-leader publishing houses. On the same day, Nov. 10th, to everybody's approval, the prestigious Goncourt Prize was awarded to Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi (Fr) for his first French-written novel , «Syngué Sabour» («Stone of Patience»), while the Renaudot Prize went to veteran Guinean novelist Tierno Monénembo for his book «Roi de Kahel».

Le grand journal, the “daily of French-speaking people in Mexico”, comments :

Est-ce un effet Obama ? Les prix Goncourt et Renaudot ont été attribués à des auteurs marqués par la diversité de leurs origines et de leur culture. Ils couronnent un Franco-Afghan et un Guinéen. Tous deux s’expriment en exil sur la guerre et l’oppression.
Pour Bertrand Visage, éditeur de Monénembo aux éditions du Seuil, « la littérature a précédé l’effet Obama. En effet, depuis dix ans, les jurés Renaudot ont joué la carte de la diversité et couronné trois auteurs d’origine africaine, Amadou Kourouma en 2000 et Alain Mabanckou en 2006. De leur côté, les Goncourt ont souvent ouvert la porte à des auteurs d’origine étrangère comme Andréï Makine et Jonathan Littell […]

Destin de l'Afrique analyzing the book, the context, and the author's biography, wonders :

Faut-il y voir une reconnaissance (tardive) de la créativité des plumes ‘noires’ ou s’agit-il un simple effet Obama, comme s’est interrogé un critique français ?

Chantal Serrière voices her enthusiasm in her blog, Ecritures du Monde, at Le Monde :

Un vent plus léger venu d'ailleurs souffle sur les prix littéraires, cuvée 2008. Soudain, on respire mieux. L'écriture se partage donc! D'un continent à l'autre! D'aucuns parleront d'effet Obama. Comme s'il s'agissait d'un phénomène de mode. Peut-être. Peut-être aussi s'avérait-il imposible de ne pas reconnaître enfin qu'on écrit en français, quelles que soient les origines de l'auteur, à Paris et même hors de l'hexagone. Bravo au jury du Renaudot pour ce choix!

More about Atiq Rahimi here.

President Sarkozy was not outdone, and appointed a Cameroon-native prefect: in Fred-lille's words :

Nouveau préfet des Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Pierre N'Gahane est le dernier en date des hauts fonctionnaires issus de la diversité et promus par le président.

Asked whether this appointment was aroused by the Obama effect, Minister of the Interior Michèle Alliot-Marie answered: “It means no more than acknowledging the qualities of a man who already exercised prefect duties.” [he was not yet a head of department, but was in charge of promoting equality of opportunities in nearby Bouches du Rhône department]

Political parties are all taking their stand in this new competition, claiming they did not just wait for Obama to jump on the scene to give minorities the visibility they deserve. This kind of competition led lowblogging to make fun of the current French Socialist Party's leadership warfare:

Bertrand Delanoë et Martine Aubry n’ont cessé de le répéter au micro des journalistes ces trois derniers jours : la France aurait tout à gagner à suivre la voie ouverte par les Américains qui ont accordé leurs voix à Barack Obama. Pour trancher avec une classe politique française assez monochrome, Bertrand Delanoë et Martine Aubry auront tout loisir de mettre en accord leurs vœux pieux avec leurs actes en votant pour Ségolène Royal au Congrès de Reims. Née à Dakar en 1953, Ségolène Royal deviendrait ainsi la première Africaine de l’histoire à accéder au poste de premier secrétaire du Parti socialiste. His-to-ri-que ! His-to-ri-que ! His-to-ri-que !

And finally, let's speak hope, with the CRAN (Fr) (Conseil représentatif des associations noires de France), an organization federating French black associations, according to YannDarc:

FIERE de ses métissages (sic), la France, pays des Lumières et patrie des droits de l’homme, aura-t-elle un jour son Barack Obama au sommet du pouvoir ? Patrick Lozès, président du Conseil représentatif des associations noires de France (Cran) reçu hier à l’Elysée par le chef de cabinet de Nicolas Sarlozy pour demander que les élections européennes et régionales en 2009 et 2010 ne soient pas des scrutins « monocolores » , y croit.

[…]

Un Manifeste pour l’égalité réelle, initié par Yazid Sabeg, enfant d’immigré devenu industriel, signé par des responsables politiques de droite comme de gauche et soutenu par Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, propose, depuis ce week-end, de lancer un « Grenelle de la diversité ». Et vite, histoire de surfer sur la victoire d’Obama qui a suscité de l’espoir auprès de millions de citoyens bien décidés à saisir l’occasion de se montrer enfin.

Well, let's hope this «Grenelle of diversity» (as a reference to the Grenelle agreements which put an end to the May 1968 upheavals) will be luckier than the current «Grenelle of environment», a great package of good resolutions in danger of getting mired in the global economic crisis.

Depois de uma campanha desgastante e após um dia de grande movimento eleitoral, o país escolheu seu novo presidente. Um líder concebido pela própria força do povo, carregado de carisma, que foi capaz de contaminar o país com seu discurso de mudança e união do povo - a despeito de sua falta de experiência administrativa. Um dia após o pleito, todos os jornais propagaram a boa nova. O país ainda celebrava a escolha, o fim do continuismo. Demonstrava, em cada face, o significado real da palavra “esperança”.

After an exhausting campaign and a very busy election, this country has chosen its new president. A leader designed by the strength of its people, who is full of charisma and was able to infect the country with his speech about change and unity of people - despite his lack of administrative experience. The day after the election, all the newspapers brought the good news. The country also celebrated its choice, the end of the political status quo. The real meaning of the word “hope” was shown on everyone's face.

This was on Monday, October 28 2002, as Brazilian blogger Marmota notes, and Brazil had just elected its thirty-fifth president: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former trade union leader and a founding member of the country's Workers' Party. If we look at class rather than race, those elections changed history too, and the images of the huge mass of people waiting for Obama at the night of November 04, 2008 at Grant Park in Chicago actually reminded many Brazilians of Lula's arrival at Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, a little more than six years ago. Looking at what has happened in Brazil since, Marmota says that Obama may want to look up to Lula to find out how to deal with people's overwhelming hope and expectations of immediate changes:

As comparações, evidentemente, só fazem algum sentido ao analisarmos dois elementos. Um é a euforia pós-vitória; outro é o regime de governo. Em nossas democracias, o poder está nas mãos de um cidadão eleito pelo povo; este, ao lado de seus partidários, só consegue governar após uma criteriosa composição de equipe, onde o escolhido distribui o poder entre confiáveis e competentes. Ou não. Pois diante de tamanha expectativa, há o risco da decepção naqueles cuja confiança foi depositada com tamanho fervor. Provavelmennte, entre as próximas decisões a serem tomadas pelo novo presidente dos Estados Unidos, a mais óbvia pode ser pinçada desta nação dos trópicos: para não acabar com as crenças e esperanças alheias, certifique-se de que está cercado pelas pessoas certas.

Of course, these comparisons only make any sense when we look at two elements. One is the post-victory euphoria, another is the government system. In our democracies, power is at the hands of a citizen elected by the people; Together with their supporters, he/she can only rule after a careful composition of their team, in which the elected person distributes power to reliable and competent people. Or not. Well, when facing such expectations, there is a risk of disappointing those who had completely trusted them. Probably, among the next decisions to be taken by the United States president-elect, the most obvious ones may be pinched from this tropical nation: in order not to put an end to people's beliefs and hopes, do make sure you are surrounded by the right people.

The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has managed to reduce poverty, expand its internal market and the country is even in a better position to endure global financial turbulence. However, his achievements have been marred by corruption schandals - exactly what Brazilians wanted to change. Journalist Victor Barone interviewed Lula in 2003, right at the beginning of his first therm in office, and asked him if he feared he would disappoint his electors. He says Lula replied: “I believe there it only makes sense for a person like me to reach the presidency if it is to make a difference never seen.” The blogger says those days he believed good intentions could save the world, nowadays he fears they can not:

É que há algo que não me sai da cabeça, uma relação entre o Lula de 2003 - fiel depositário da esperança da população brasileira por mudanças reais no âmbito político, econômico e social - e o presidente Obama. Pupulam pela imprensa e pela internet odes ao primeiro presidente negro da maior nação do planeta, do maior império da história moderna, quiçá de todos os tempos. Confesso que Obama fascina, meche com nosso imaginário, nos faz pensar que a humanidade pode avançar deixando de lado anacronismos como o racismo. Mas, então, penso em Lula e faço uma relação entre o desencanto político de milhões de brasileiros e o que poderá ocorrer na América e no mundo se Barack Obama falhar em sua missão de guiar os destinos dos EUA rumo a um futuro menos belicista e egocêntrico.

There is something that I can not get off my head, the link between the Lula of 2003 - trustee of the Brazilian population's hopes of real changes in the political, economic and social spheres - and President-elect Obama. The media and the Internet are full of odes to the first black president of the greatest nation on Earth, the greatest empire of modern history, perhaps of all time. I confess that Obama fascinates, lets our imagination go, makes us think that humanity can move forward leaving behind anachronisms such as racism. But then, I think of Lula and make a link between the political disenchantment of millions of Brazilians and what might happen in America and the world if Barack Obama fails in his mission to guide the U.S. towards a less bellicose and egocentric future.

Even the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva himself could not avoid comparisons. At a Mercosur meeting last Friday, he said that Barack Obama's election in the United States “began in South America,” mentioning the leaders that com from the poorest backgrounds, such as Evo Morales (Bolivia), Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Tabaré Vázquez (Uruguay) to become presidents and his own election in Brazil:

“Eu sempre tomei cuidado para não opiniar sobre as eleições em outros países, mas no caso dos Estados Unidos eu não me contive e fiz questão de dizer que gostaria que Obama ganhasse. E tudo isso começou na América do Sul. Obama é mais um passo disso”.

“I have been always careful not to express my opinions on other countries' elections, but in the case of the United States case I could not hold myself and had said I'd like Obama to win. And it all began in South America. Obama is another step forward.”

According to news outlets, the President Lula is negotiating a private meeting with president-elect Barack Obama before the G-20 Washington summit on 15 November. Blog do Savarese gives Obama a hint:

Apesar dos pesares, talvez o rapaz devesse pedir uns conselhos pro tio Lula.

Despite everything, perhaps the guy should ask Uncle Lula to give him some advice

Photoart by escrevo Logo existo

Harry Clarke’s ‘commentary on economics, politics & other things’ discovered an Obama policy that is already under challenge. He seemed attracted to the idea of community service though his source didn’t:

Gregory Mankiw points out that Barack Obama supports the conscription of youth into community service. I wonder how many aged lefties will now dump on Obama on the basis of past Vietnam Moratorium ideals. Well of course its not this aged lot who now face the prospect of being conscripted so that a certain amount of soundly-justified hypocrisy is plausible.

Maybe spending the last week in China has dented my democratic ideals but I think the Obama suggestion makes a lot of sense.
Obama supports conscription

Nicholas Gruen, CEO of Lateral Economics  who posts at Club Troppo focused on the one big thing which Obama has done since Tuesday:

Paul Krugman was always critical of Obama for not being more partisan. We’ll see what happens. In my ignorance I’m expecting Obama to be like Clinton - a pro when it comes to policy who hires the best advice he can get unlike Republicans who haven’t done that since - well perhaps someone can remind me. But I don’t expect him to be particularly bold. But who knows. The thing that always struck me as ridiculous about Krugman’s critique is that being all post-partisan was a good way to build a coalatition and get into power. You find out how people are going to govern after they get into power - or hasn’t Krugman noticed. FDR was elected on a platform of balancing the budget.

And now we get to see how Obama governs. And his first decision is to go for a hard man as a chief of staff - Obama plays the good cop and everyone is telling us that Rahm Emanuel gets to play the bad cop. I’ll be interested to see if Krugman has anything to say on this - I’ve not seen it yet. But it’s a first sign that Obama is under no illusions about how lovely the Republicans will be towards him.
Rahm Emanuel - the enforcer

Another economist, John Quiggin, whose blog presents itself as a ‘Commentary on Australian & world events from a social-democratic perspective’ looked forward to:

a revival of the progressive politics of the New Deal, in retreat ever since the 1970s. If Obama can combine an economic recovery with a new commitment to social equity, his election victory could prove more significant than any since that of Roosevelt in 1932.

He mentioned several policy areas, one of which is global warming:

… looming over all of this is climate change. Obama has promised a cap-and-trade scheme, and a return to world leadership at Copenhagen. But, as in Australia, there will be powerful voices calling for a continuation of the Bush policy of delay and denial, and putting the financial crisis forward as a pretext. Neither the world nor the position of the US as a world leader can afford this.
A tough road ahead

I feel a ‘three economists in a boat’ joke coming on. So let’s give Tigtog at Hoyden About Town the punch line. She speculated about what Obama’s priorities should be:

Just like a gazillion others, I’ve been thinking about what Obama could/should do, in his first 100 days in office, that would be small in terms of the effort required (falling within executive powers entirely, no Congressional courting/approval required) but that would make an immediate, huge, difference to many people.

I ended up deciding that there were so many things that needed fixing, that I would be better off focussing on what I would be horrendously disappointed to find that he was not going to do. So here’s my One Thing that I will be broken-hearted if he does not do it:

1. negate the Global Gag Rule (aka Mexico City Policy)

Our continuing research shows the gag rule is eroding family planning and reproductive health services in developing countries. There is no evidence that it has reduced the incidence of abortion globally. On the contrary, it impedes the very services that help women avoid unwanted pregnancy from the start.

What's your One Thing?

Just one thing

According to the blog, a hoyden (hoid’n) is a woman of saucy, boisterous or carefree behavior. A match for 3 economists anyday.

“When Henrique began campaigning, asking residents to join him in a dream of a better city, his supporters started calling him their Barack Obama. The name stuck, and a campaign jingle followed — set to the funky Rio beat. His popularity soared.

Crisscrossing town in a caravan of family and friends, Henrique meets and greets everyone in town. On the streets he is a crowd favorite, but as we see in the piece, when election day arrives in Brazil, Henrique finds even more obstacles to overcome in trying to make history in the Baixada.”

More and more Brazilians are looking to the elected president for inspiration. There is Gilson Rodrigues, a community leader nicknamed the “Obama of Paraisópolis” who acts as a dwelling association president in one of the São Paulo's slums, and blogger Lílian Portalupp [pt] comments on yet another Obama impersonator in Rio de Janeiro, a driver who has been acting as the real Obama in Brazil and thanking people for their votes:

E não é que temos um Barack Obama em pleno Rio De Janeiro? Trata-se do motorista da rádio Globo, Rinaldo Gaudêncio Américo, de 36 anos. Por onde passa, Rinaldo é comparado ao presidente eleito dos Estados Unidos. E ele aproveita esta semelhança para brincar com o povo nas ruas. Enquanto o futuro presidente americano monta sua equipe de governo, o sósia só quer saber de comemorar com o povo a expressiva vitória do democrata. Convidado para um churrasco numa laje, na Tavares Bastos, Obama fez a festa. Sentindo-se o próprio presidente eleito, ele não parava de fazer promessas entre um petisco e outro.

Can you believe we have a Barack Obama in Rio De Janeiro? He is Radio Globo's driver, 36 year old Rinaldo Gaudêncio America. Wherever he goes, Rinaldo is compared to the elected president of the United States. And he takes the opportunity to play with people on the streets. While the future U.S. president assembles his government team, the lookalike only cares about people's celebrations of the clear victory of the Democrat. He was invited to a barbecue at Tavares Bastos square, where Obama partied. Acting as if he was the elected president himself, he did not stop making promises between a snack and another.

 José Luis Tchê [pt] publishes a picture of a Obama from Minas Gerais. According to the blogger, 40 year old Gerson Januário de Almeida was spotted by American tourists in Brazil. He was surprised at first, but is proud of it now:

“Percebi que as pessoas falavam de mim, mas não fazia idéia do que fosse. Até que o tradutor me explicou que elas me achavam parecido com o candidato à presidência dos Estados Unidos”, diz Almeida. De acordo com o sósia, no trabalho, na padaria e no açougue próximos a sua casa ele é chamado de Obama. “Gostaria de participar de concursos de semelhança física e eventos por dinheiro e não por vaidade”, afirma Almeida, que trabalha como funcionário público e não descarta a oportunidade de seguir na “profissão de sósia”.

“I noticed that people were talking about me, but I had no idea of what it was about. It was then that the interpreter explained to me that they thought I looked like a candidate for the presidency of the United States”, said Almeida. According to the lookalike, at work, at a butcher and at a bakery shops near his house, he is called Obama. “I would like to participate in contests of physical similarity and events for cash, not for vanity,” said Almeida, who works as a civil servant and has not dismissed the opportunity to follow the “lookalike profession”.

Fernando Jorge goes further to point out that Obama would have ever been born, if it weren't for Brazil. Comparing pictures of the Kenyan Barack Obama, the elected president's father, and Brazilian actor Breno Mello, who played the main character in the Oscar winning movieOrfeu Negro (1959), the blogger discovered a striking resemblance between the two. The blogger retells below a piece of history from Obama's biography, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance:

 Pois bem, nesse ano de 1959, uma jovem americana de dezesseis anos, extremamente branca, sem um pingo de sangue negro, chamada Stanley Ann Dunham, nascida no Kansas, resolveu assistir em Chicago ao primeiro filme estrangeiro de sua existência. Foi ver o Orfeu Negro, só com atores negros, paisagens brasileiras, música brasileira, história brasileira. Ela saiu do cinema em estado de êxtase, maravilhada. Adorou aqueles negros encantadores de um país tropical e logo admitiu:
“Nunca vi coisa mais linda, em toda a minha vida.”
Depois de tal arrebatamento, a jovem Stanley embarcou para o Havaí. E ali, aos dezoito anos, ela se tornou colega, numa aula de russo, de um jovem negro de vinte e três anos, Barack Hussein Obama, nascido no Quênia. A moça branca do Kansas, influenciada pelo filme Orfeu Negro, entregou-se a ele e dessa união inter-racial, nasceu em 4 de agosto de 1961 um menino, a quem ela deu o mesmo nome do pai e que é agora, aos quarenta e seis anos, o primeiro candidato negro à presidência dos Estados Unidos.

Well, in that year of 1959, a young 16-year-old American girl, very white, without a drop of black blood, called Stanley Ann Dunham, born in Kansas and settled in Chicago, went to see a foreign film for the first time. It was Black Orpheus, with black actors, Brazilian landscape, Brazilian music, Brazilian history. She left the theater in a state of bliss, wonderful. She loved those black people from a charming tropical country and once admitted:
“I have never seen a more beautiful thing in all my life.”
After such a frenzy, the young Stanley embarked to Hawaii. And there, at 18, she became a student in a Russian language class with a young 23 year old black guy, Barack Hussein Obama, born in Kenya. The white woman from Kansas, influenced by the Black Orpheus movie, fell for him, and from that interracial union, a boy was born on August 4, 1961, to whom she gave the name of his father and who is now, at 46, the first black candidate running for president of the United States.

However, the new generation of Brazilian Obamas is yet to be born. Obama is the fashionable baby name of the moment throughout Kenya, and there are no doubts that, after the victory, there will be some Obama babies in Brazil too. Rubens Fortes [pt] wonders who will be the first:

“Em qual estado vocês acham que vai ser o resgistrado o primeiro bebê com o nome de Obama? Ou será que ganha Baraque?…
Ou, pior, algum genérico, tipo Obrama, Barraque, Barate, Barato Obrama…

“In which state do you think the first baby called Obama will be from? Or is it going to be Baraque?…(as pronounced in Portuguese). Or even worse, something generic like Obrama, Barraque, Barate, Barato Obrama…

The much loved french satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, which appears Wednesdays, closed before election results, so they for once decided to trust the polls and took a winning bet on Obama, with headlines in their traditional pun-style: “America is no longer afraid of the Dark - Happy Hour”

The French support committees for Obama were of course overjoyed. France for Barack Obama blog, under the title Yes we did, wrote:

Un nouveau jour s’ouvre pour les Etats-Unis et pour le Monde (…)
Depuis un an, tous ensemble nous nous sommes mobilisés pour soutenir cette candidature historique. Un an de travail, d’implication, de débats, de rencontres et d’engagement pour arriver à ce jour, ce premier mercredi de novembre (…)

A new day opens up for the U.S. and the world (…) All together, we have been joining forces for a whole year, to support his historical running for election. A year of work, involvement, debates, meetings and commitment to get to this day, this first Wednesday of November (…)

The Barack Obama's friends in the city of Lyon website proclaims: “Overwhelming victory of Barack Obama, first Black President of the U.S” and proudly posts Obama's letter of thanks for their efforts:

Dear friends of Lyon's support committee–

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign — every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing…
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,

Barack

Even bloggers who do not usually bother about politics coud not resist expressing their pleasure, as Eolas, blogging on R@ZEM OD 1957, saying:

Il y a des matins comme ça….. ou on a juste envie de chanter.
There are mornings like that…when you just feel like singing

And indeed, he posts a video of “the huge, tremendous Marvin Gaye singing the US anthem, 1983.”

And Myloubook, “column of a young reader,” writes:

Congratulations, Senator Obama ! YES WE CAN” :
Je n’ai jamais voulu parler politique sur ce blog mais je ne peux résister au plaisir d’afficher aujourd’hui la photo du prochain Président des Etats-Unis (…) Après deux énormes désillusions, je suis aujourd’hui très émue et extrêmement heureuse devant la victoire démocrate et particulièrement symbolique de Barack Obama.

“I never intended to talk about politics on this blog but I can't resist today posting the picture of the next President of the U.S. … After two huge disillusions, today I feel very excited and extremely happy at the democrat and specially symbolic victory of Barack Obama. I, who sincerely love the U.S., feel full of hope for this country (…)

Of course, the racial issue is in many minds: the ESJ (Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme) students blogging on the 20minutes website debate the topic “Is Obama black?”:

“Trop” noir pour les uns, “pas assez” noir pour les autres, la question de la couleur de peau d'Obama aura quelque peu pourri le débat présidentiel. Le camp républicain, tout en se défiant bien de tomber dans les attaques racistes, aura joué à fond la carte des “origines” du sénateur de l'Illinois. Et Barack Obama s'en est plutôt bien tiré.

Too black for some, and not black enough for others, the issue of Obama's skin color somehow spoiled the presidential debate. The Republican side, while defiantly lapsing into racist attacks, played thoroughly the card of the Illinois senators' “origins”. And Obama coped quite well with that.

The post then quotes and comments Barack Obama's autobiography, The Audacity of Hope.

Political analysts won't deny a good thing but already bring up the heavy tasks awaiting the next President.

Je suis belge mais je me soigne (”Im belgian, but I try to cure my self”), blogging at the “Monde” website, writes :

Les Américains ont enfin compris à une très large majorité que huit ans de bushisme, ça suffit. Mais ne nous leurrons pas, le pays est toujours bien divisé puisque la plupart des Etats du centre et du sud sont restés ”rouges”.

L’ampleur de cette victoire est néanmoins un signal fort du peuple américain, c’est un choix de société sans équivoque et sans aucune contestation possible. Espérons que Barack Obama ne décevra pas et que sous sa tutelle les Etats-Unis redeviendront un partenaire loyal et constructif des Européens.

The American people at last realized in very big majority that 8 years of “Bushism” were enough. But we must not delude ourselves, the country remains divided, as most of the center and southern states remained “red.”

However, the sheer size of this victory is a strong signal by the American people, it is an unequivocal societal choice which bears no contesting. Let us hope that Barack Obama won't disappoint and that under his leadership the U.S. will turn again a fair and constructive partner to Europeans.

Nearer to the U.S., from Quebec, les 7 du Québec writes, under the title: “America prefers Obama the centrist to the troublemaker McCain”:

(…)Ne nions pas la joie que nous éprouvons à l’idée de voir disparaître une administration qui a marqué les esprits de la pire opinion qui se puisse trouver sur cette planète. Ne rejetons pas le plaisir que nous éprouvons à la victoire de Barack Obama, plus un centriste qu’un homme de droite. Quoique … Ne soyons toutefois pas dupes. Cette victoire ne sera que de courte durée. Il faut éviter de céder, à travers ce moment historique, au chant des sirènes qui ne nous mènera que vers des déceptions et de grandes désillusions.(…)

(…) Don't let us deny the joy we are feeling at the thought of seeing the removal of an administration that marked minds with the worst opinion to be found on this planet. Don't let us reject the pleasure we feel at Barack Obama's victory, more of a centrist than a right wing man. but then…don't let us be taken in. This victory will be short lived. Even in this historical moment, we must beware of listening to the sirena's song that is goind to lead us to disappointment and big disillusions. (…)

The post then thoroughly discusses Barack Obama's policies on all domestic and foreign issues awaiting the new President, and points out:

Barack Obama a beau être adulé de par le monde entier, il hérite d’un pays en ruines. Les États-Unis sont endettés comme jamais auparavant et sont empêtrés dans des guerres sans issue à court terme.

However much adulated by the whole world, he inherits a ruined country. The U.S. is in debt like never before and are mixed up in wars that are dead ends in the short term.

And finally, the post lists the lobbies who supported Obama, commenting :

Ce qui contredit quelque peu l’adage selon lequel, globalement, les républicains roulent pour les riches et les démocrates pour les pauvres.
This refutes a little the saying that the Republicans are for the rich and the Democrats for the poor.

While the EU is polishing its new partnership offer on their side of the Atlantic, let's conclude with a link to a welcoming poem in Creole by Mauritius poet Tahir Hussen Pirbhay: “Premye Prezidan Nwar.”

Yesterday we voted for the change. We told the world that we are sick and tired of George W Bush and his ugly years.
Yesterday we voted that we are not racists and color does not mean a thing!
Yesterday I saw people driving their cars, waving the American flags from the windows and beeping their car horns
The feeling yesterday was like “ We took our country back”

God knows when? But one day, I will tell my kids that I voted for Obama!

I respect the American people who had the guts to know that they were wrong for the last 8 years and it is about time to fix their mistake (67% of states voted for change)!

Obama is really an international president, born in Hawaii, has african father, had his childhood in Asia, and is an American citizen…. black father, white mother…. Muslim father, secular mother, and Christian child… it is rare to find all these stuff in one person.

I dream one day I can see competing candidates in Egypt from different parties, among which are women and coptic candidates as well.

Sobort we Nelot ya Obama we 3o2bal 3andena :)
Mohaly

I hope he's sincere and honest and true.
Being the first African-American President, he should have a lot of eyes watching him and a lot of pressure which I think he shouldn't give in to.

And it started as it always does: with birds, schoolchildren, and car horns. No national holiday here.

I’m looking forward to going out in the streets to hear the reaction. The best reaction I’ve heard so far: “Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job.”

Bah humbug. I confess I’m moved.
Comments
Welcome to America, Ahmed
Monday, November 03, 2008, 6:35:47 PM | The Skeptic
Author, journalist, and blogger Ahmed Salih missed his connecting flight to Texas because he was pulled into the Muslim Room at JFK.

Of course he was. I’ve seen a distinguished Tunisian professor, a wine connoisseur, no doubt, pulled into the Muslim Room at JFK—and he even had an embarrassed white guy there vouching for him. You just need to be called Ahmed. And our Ahmed has an unusual look about him, especially when he’s got that light beard thing going on.

Fortunately for us, he writes well. He’s recorded his experiences here. And fortunately for us, Will Ward also writes well. His translation is here:

The place perfectly resembled any Egyptian police station, except for the picture of Mr. George Bush hanging on the wall in place of Mubarak’s, and that the officers’ clothes were blue rather than white. The American officers had the same cold, dumb faces of their Egyptian counterparts. I told the officer at the beginning about my flight leaving in two hours, but he told me to sit waiting until they called my name. [Full post]

Ahmed and other Egyptian bloggers are in the United States on a USAid-funded project (guess that secret’s out now that it’s been on boing-boing) to allow them to cover the elections.

Presumably, USAid hopes that this will give them a first-hand view of American democracy in action and improve their opinion of the country. It seems like a successful program. I once saw a TV news segment about an Arab from the suburbs of Paris brought to the States on some similar deal. He did look very happy eating a large cheeseburger in New York.

I approve of these programs and think more governments should start them. I have a poor impression of Germany, for example. But that could change if the Germans would fly me there to eat a sausage. I can forgive all sorts of condescension for sausage. Just no interrogations please. Nothing scares me more than German interrogators.

I’m glad you made it out of JFK, Ahmed. I hope this program is bringing you to a good election party. Common wisdom says the Democrat parties will be more fun, but the Republican parties will be more journalistically interesting. Enjoy either way.

The article also mentions this text message that's being circulated around the country:

“Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack is running so our children can fly.”

Sometimes, it is not enough to have a Big Dream..
What matters is to have enough strength
to resist the pressures to give up a Big Dream!

Israel's leadership from caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to President Shimon Peres all offered their warm congratulations to Obama in personal letters and overnight phone calls.

But unnamed officials cited by Army Radio and other Israeli media outlets expressed anxiety that Obama's ascendance will enhance the greatest current existential threat facing the Jewish state: the Iranian nuclear program.

Obama repeatedly stated that he would meet with Iran's leadership without preconditions, a move that Israeli officials fear will give Iran the covering it needs to complete its work on a nuclear bomb without fear of military intervention by Israel or the US.

The officials said they do not see any drastic changes in US policy regarding other Israel-related issues of importance, such as the peace process with the Palestinians and combatting Islamic terrorism in the region.

Israel's largest daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, disagreed with that assessment a day before Obama's victory, warning that the Democrat's policy toward Iran would also extend to groups like Hamas.

The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, too, believes that Obama will alter more than just US policy toward Iran and Iraq, and will be far more forceful than President George W. Bush in extracting territorial concessions from Israel.

How did this latest incident happen?

On Tuesday night seven IDF soldiers were wounded and six gunmen were reported killed in clashes which erupted when IDF special forces entered Gaza in order to blow up a tunnel dug by Hamas terrorists for the purpose of kidnapping IDF soldiers.
The attacks by the terrorists continue. Three Israelis have been injured from the kassam and mortar attacks, including a girl being treated for shock.

The strategic hudna in place for several months has had tense moments before, but this is one of the largest attack on both sides since the hudna was declared. It's also the first since the US voted for its next President. This is just a taste of what Obama will have to look forward to from day one.

UPDATE:
In a related note, President Elect Obama begins his security briefings along with Vice President Elect Biden.
The briefings typically last 45 minutes to an hour, but Obama's initial one is expected to be longer. A U.S. intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity said Joe Biden, the vice president-elect, also will begin receiving briefings this week.

The president's daily brief that Obama will receive is mostly written by the Central Intelligence Agency and will include the most critical overnight intelligence for the president. They sometimes dig deeply into a specific topic to give the president an in-depth understanding.
UPDATE:
AP runs this story attempting to highlight the crises facing Obama, but it comes off as little more than an op-ed.
Obama's vision for sweeping foreign policy changes could have a profound effect on the nation's quest to hold onto its role as sole superpower.

The change in course includes globally popular choices such as a phased withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and strong action on climate change, an issue that many say was neglected by the Bush administration.

Other changes Obama plans are more controversial.

He wants to increase U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan, which he views as the frontline in the battle against al-Qaida. And he has struck a more conciliatory stance with nations shunned as pariahs under the Bush administration.
I'm sure Iran and the terrorists in al Qaeda are cheering at the possibility of US withdrawal from Iraq. Appeasement with enemies of the West and of all things that Americans hold dear - the very notions of liberty and freedom - are at stake when you seek to hold talks with those who despise all those same concepts. That means meetings without preconditions with the likes of Hugo Chavez, Raul Castro, and the Iranians will be spectacular failures.

Besides, the President of the US isn't running a popularity contest. He's supposed to be doing what is best for the US to protect its national security. Doing the right thing isn't always the popular thing. Obama will learn that lesson very quickly. So will his supporters.

Of course, it’s hard, here in Palestine, to ignore Obama’s determined efforts to avoid any criticism of Israeli policy. The Israeli newspapers are filled with assurances that Obama is “a friend of Israel.” Today I received an email with a column by Ralph Nader blasting Obama for caving in to pro-Israel pressure, but Nader’s current location on the fringes of mainstream politics makes his on-target analysis unlikely to get much traction.

On BBC this morning, the election coverage I saw ignored Palestine and Israel, but as you might expect Al Jazeera got right to the point with an interview with journalist Robert Fisk. Fisk noted that Obama’s impressive speech ignored the importance of justice. Fisk was concerned that Obama’s promise to go after “those who tear the world down” (something like that) might be a hint that he would continue America’s identification of Islam as the enemy. Obama, Fisk predicted, won’t push Israel hard despite his commitment to speak “the truth.” As Nader wrote in his column, Obama abandoned his Palestinian sympathies once he left Illinois for Washington.

Nader, by the way, also emphasized Obama’s corporate-friendly political history, which helps explain the unusual support he’s received from corporate interests. I’ve long thought that Obama, like Democrats more generally, routinely ignore the two issues I’ve been most concerned with over the years, corporate power and rights, a topic I’ve explored in my academic work, and applying justice principles to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On these issues, and I suspect on others, Obama will disappoint many of his current fans.