First, as German blogger Yaschka Mounk reported, there was the rumor that Sarkozy might have had one too many drinks with Putin before a Press conference in 2007 (see video below):

Then, as you can see in French blog rue89, there was the infamous cover of a Polish magazine that displayed a modified photo of Putin spanking Sarkozy, graphically criticizing the current leader of the European Union for being too lenient with Russia over the Georgian crisis. It turns out that Sarkozy did have some influence over Putin when they met to discuss this matter. In the Netherlands, Michael Van der Galien at the Poligazette, quoting from the Times of London, writes that Sarkozy was successful at preventing Putin from further escalating the crisis in Georgia:

When Sarkozy was in Moscow in August this year, in order to establish peace between Georgia and Russia, Vladimir Putin told Sarkozy he wanted to hang Saakashvili “by the balls,” meaning forcibly removing him from power.
Sarkozy told Putin that the international community would not accept that from Moscow. Putin didn’t care. ““I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” he said.
Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”
Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?” Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”

He adds:

Lessons learned:
1. Sarkozy saved Saakashvili
2. Fear of “ending up like Bush” now functions as deterrent

World bloggers are picking up the meme that the fear of being like Bush might be the most effective way to prevent world leaders from acting too impetuously.

Alex Massie from Scotland, calls President GW Bush: “the Inadvertent Peacemaker“. Superfrenchie ( France) is amused that the language of diplomacy can be so colorful.
However, others are not pleased that this conversation was leaked to the Press. In the comment section of the original article, Richard Grey in London writes:

good Bush joke, but shame the French leaked this out. Sarkozy is Europe's strongest leader, he needs other leaders of the world to trust he wouldn't send confidential conversations out to the press

In the same comment section,Angel, from Sofia, Bulgaria, agrees:

This is french propaganda campaign which sought to reassure other european countries that their security and well-being can depend on the french paper tiger.
It is also possible for them to play good cop bad cop with the russians, with the aim of replacing NATO with ESDP.

Even a French blogger concurs. Pierre Vienot in New York, US, protests:

“Monsieur le President, self promotion is unacceptable! Your advisor should shut up.”

As part of their campaign, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden said that more must be done to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). They pledged to provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, hoping to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment, and supported increasing U.S. contributions to the Global Fund for AIDS, malaria, and TB. The ONE Blog lists other health- and poverty-related campaign promises.

Bloggers around the world are excited about what Obama's win could mean for health issues. Ray Hartley, blogging on The Times, South Africa, posts an excerpt of Obama's speech on World AIDS Day, 2006, after a visit to South Africa:

“We know how to save people’s lives. We know the medicine is out there and we know that wealthy countries can afford to do more. That’s why it was so frustrating for me to go to South Africa, and see the pain, and see the suffering …We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth - so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives. And one of the miracles to come out of the AIDS pandemic is that scientists have discovered medicine that can give people with HIV a new chance at life.”

yannick Santana, commenting on this excerpt says:

“If people have been wondering about ways in which President Obama change could positively impact the problem-solving process in Africa, this is an illustration.”

addis2000, blogging on Addismenged, provides five reasons why Obama's win is good for Ethiopians, including potentially helping Ethiopian-Americans access affordable healthcare. Within Ethiopia addis2000 adds:

“HIV/Aids and food insecurity form convergent miseries. To combat poverty, Ethiopian economists urge for immediate steps to curb the country’s exponential population growth. And yet, despite the Bush administration’s outstanding work to treat HIV/Aids victims in Africa through the PEPFAR programme, it worsened things by ordering USAID missions in six African countries to ensure that no U.S.-financed condoms, birth control pills, I.U.D.’s or other contraceptives are furnished to Marie Stopes International, which operates clinics in Ethiopia. Senator Obama supports family planning.”

Others also remain hopeful. A post on Med India says that Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., is optimistic about Obama's efforts to tackle global health issues, including ones in India. Understand Argentina also believes we have much to celebrate, and hopes this will be a new era for all Americans: North, Central and South. One of the reasons to celebrate, she adds, is because Obama will bring:

“More assistance in vocational training, micro-finance and community development; continue fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; reinforce global education.”

In the U.S., Obama's healthcare plan includes making healthcare affordable and accessible to all, lowering healthcare costs, and promoting public health. He also pledged to develop and begin implementing a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy during his first year of presidency.

RH Reality Check says that Obama's victory can be seen as a mandate for science and rationality, especially in healthcare policy. A post on Housing Works is also excited about these science-based policies, and hopes they will target people most in need.

“AIDS advocates were overwhelmingly thrilled by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, expressing hope that Obama’s election will bring meaningful changes to health care reform, science-based prevention, and a National AIDS strategy — all of which he promised during the campaign. And there is a real hope that the first black president — who has spoken out against health disparities in minority populations and homophobia in the black community — will frankly address the epidemic in the United States which overwhelmingly affects African-Americans, Latinos and gay men.”

Stiletto, blogging on Pourquoi Pas?, points out that though Obama has inherited huge problems from President George W. Bush, she hopes he will still deliver on his promises.

“For the American people, I hope he manages to find the 33 billion dollars to make America’s health system a thing of everyday like here in Europe, instead of being a joke like a third world country and having 45 million people with no health care cover. If that idiot Bush managed to find nearly 1000 billion dollars to go murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, surely, 33 billion dollars to keep the health of the citizens of USA is a lot more important and a lot cheaper. But this is your problem, Americans, and I wish you all the best. “

However, My African Diaspora cautions that we need to give Obama time to come through on all his promises:

“Temper expectations. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process. Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.”

Photo of Obama Posters by tonx on Flickr.

* This post also appears on Global Voices Online.

국익에 반하여 버락 오바마를 지지하는 이유
1. 왜 버락 오바마의 미국 대통령 당선은 대한민국의 국익에 반하는가?

대한민국의 국익을 현 정권이 규정할만한 다음 세 가지, 즉

1) 국내정치 : 대북 정치-경제우위, 미국의 군사력에 기반을 둔, 압도적, 주도적 통일.
2) 국제정치 : 미국을 업고 동북아 4강 구도에서 적극적인 역량 발휘
3) 국제경제 : 한국의 무역흑자를 가능케 할 대규모 대미 무역흑자
로 단순화 한다면, 버락 오바마의 당선은 국익에 명백히 반한다. 아마 2~3년 뒤엔, 한국에서 오바마 지지한다고 했다간 좋은 소리 못 듣고 다닐 가능성이 크다.

1) 국내정치 차원
(1) 오바마가 선거운동에서 밝힌 바, 미국은 북한 핵문제에서 외교에 큰 비중을 둘 것이며, 직접협상을 할 것이다. (반면 매케인은 대북 강경책을 시사했다.) 여기에는 대북 제재 해제는 물론, 대량의 식량-석유 지원이 수반될 수 있다. 남한의 현 반북보수정권은 예상되는 미국의 북한 지원(미국의 북한 퍼주기)에 소극적일 수 있다. 이렇게 되면 남한의 가치는 떨어진다. 남한의 가치는 ‘미국이 거쳐 가는 대북 창구'역할, 그리고 ‘대북 지원의 곳간'역할에 있었기 때문이다.
(2) 북한은 남한을 따돌리고, 미국과 직접 협상을 할 수 있으며(통미봉남), 이 와중에 북한은 예전에 중국과 소련 사이에서 그랬듯, 중국과 미국 사이에서 자기의 몸값을 높일 수 있다. 북한의 가치는 높아질 수 있다. 물론 북한이 핵협상에서 (한국과 일본을 따돌리고) 미국과 원만히 문제를 해결해 나간다는 전제가 충족될 때의 일이다. 더불어 김정일을 비롯한 북한의 핵심권력층에 큰 이상이 생기지 않는다는 전제도 만족해야 한다.
(3) 아프가니스탄과 이라크에서 전쟁을 치르며 많이 지친데다, 금융위기로 당분간 군대에 충분한 예산 배정을 하기 어려울 미국 정부는 해외 주둔지의 전비를 주둔지 국가에 많이 떠넘길 수 있다. 그렇지 않아도, 미국에서 헤어 나올 수 없는 세력이 집권한 한국은 향후 4년간, 주한미군 주둔비용, 혹은 주한미군 관련하여 ‘아주' ‘더' 많은 양보를 하게 될 것이고, 언론을 통해 이 소식을 접할 대다수 한국인들은 미국에 반감을 갖게 될 것이다. (매케인이 당선된다 하더라도, 그 요구 수준은 조금 낮아지거나, 다른 형태로 나타나게 될 것이다.)
(4) (1), (2), (3)을 종합할 때, 경제적 우위야 남한이 계속 유지하겠지만, 흡수통일에 버금갈만한 남한의 압도적, 주도적 통일은 불가능하게 될 것이다. 북-미 직접대화로 북한 문제에 대한 발언권이 크게 떨어질 것이다. 현 정부가 기치로 내걸은 ‘대미관계 회복'도 결국 한국의 대미감정 악화로 귀결될 가능성이 있다.

2) 국제정치 차원
(1) 1)의 경우에서 제시했듯, 북-미 관계는 개선될 가능성이 크다. 반면 한-미 관계는 대북 지원의 경우(우파의 반발)나, 주한미군 비용 관련(좌파의 반발)하여, 이래저래 악화될 가능성이 크다.
(2) 이 경우 한국은 주변 4대 강국에 어떻게 자신의 입지를 어필할 수 있을지를 근본적으로 다시 생각해 봐야하는 상황에 처하게 된다. 북한문제는 이미 북-미 대화로 자신의 손을 떠났고(이에 따라 한국의 가치는 급락하고), 경제문제는 금융위기로 섣불리 나서기도(해외투자), 많이 사주기도(소비시장) 어려운 상황에서, 어떻게 중국, 러시아, 일본, 그리고 미국에게 ‘아직 한국의 중요성이 떨어지지 않았음'을 설득시킬 수 있을 것인가? 하영선 서울대 외교학과 교수가 최근 조선일보 칼럼에서 ‘정신 바짝 차리고 어떻게 하면 새로 판을 짤 수 있을지 고민할 것'을 촉구하고 있음에 유의하자.

3) 국제경제 차원
(1) 오바마가 되든, 매케인이 되든, 서브프라임 모기지 사태로 말미암아, 미국 국민들의 구매력이 최악으로 떨어졌다. 따라서 미국인들의 소비 양상은 식품류 같은 가장 기초적인 분야의 비중이 커질 것이다. 반면, 한국이 미국에 수출하는 자동차, 휴대폰, 컴퓨터(반도체)등의 고부가가치, 고도기술집약 제품의 소비는 급감할 것이다. 그리고 이 위기를 극복하더라도, 미국인들은 2008년의 기억을 잊지 않고, ‘분수에 맞는 소비'로 돌아갈 것이라 보는데, 이렇게 되면 고가의 고부가가치 상품을 쉽게 구입하지도, 여러 차례 구입하지도 않을 것이다. 즉, 미국은 인구 및 소비 수준상 세계 최대 소비시장의 지위를 유지할지는 모르겠지만, 그 규모는 작아질 것이다. (중국은 소비수준이 아직 부족하고, 유럽은 분수에 맞는 소비를 하는 편이기 때문에 규모가 적정하다.) 즉, 예전만큼 미국시장에서 재미를 보긴 이제 틀렸다. 새로운 신흥시장을 시장을 찾아야 한다. …특히 오바마는 그의 발언으로 보아 우리가 그토록 팔고 싶어 하는 자동차의 수입을 어떻게든 막으려 들 것이며, 시간을 벌어 자국의 대항력을 키우고, 결국엔 한국에 한국 자동차보다 ‘훨씬 저렴하고, 훨씬 연비가 높으며, 훨씬 친환경적인 자동차'를 수출하려 들 것이다. (매케인은 ‘유정을 더 뚫어서 기름을 계속 쓰자'고 한 만큼 고연비 자동차에 대한 ‘개념'은 없다고 봤다.) …

His second post has also brought many attentions to other netizens.

2. ‘국익'에 반함에도 불구하고 왜 버락 오바마를 지지하는가?
1) 개인 차원
(1) 흑(父)과 백(母), 동양(인도네시아)과 서양(미국)과 아프리카(케냐)가 어우러져 생긴 ‘진정한 미국인', ‘미국의 진정한 이상의 결정체(Real American)'이기 때문이다. 신분에 차별이 없으며 만민이 자유로운 나라, 기회의 평등이 보장된 나라, 그렇기 때문에 압제와 가난에 신음하던 사람들이 밝은 내일을 찾아오는 나라. 피부색과 종교와 신념과 문화에 관계없이 공동의 목표를 위해 매진하는 나라. 이게 미국의 진정한 이상이라고 본다. (오바마가 항상 말하듯, 전 세계에서 이런 사람이 대통령이 될 수 있는 나라는 사실상 미국밖에 없다.)
(2) 학창시절에 인종정체성 문제로 방황하며 마약도 하는 등, 최악을 경험했다. 그러다가 대학교 들어와 정체성 문제를 극복하는 과정에서 ‘각성'했고, 최고가 됐다. 나는 이렇게 ‘밑바닥'을 경험한 사람을 신뢰하는 편이다. 그들은 ‘옛날'과 ‘초심'을 잃지 않는다. 자기가 왜 마음을 고쳐먹었는지, 자기가 추구한 이상이 무엇이었는지를 잊지 않는다….
(3) 오바마는 초심을 잊지 않았다. 하버드 법학대학원에서 흑인으로 법학 학술지 편집장을 지냈을 정도면, 월스트리트든 뉴욕이든 어디든, 어떤 회사에서든 수억원에 달하는 연봉을 받으며 편히 살 수 있었을 터다. 하지만 지역공동체 조직가로 일했던 시카고로 돌아왔고, 사회운동을 계속했다…

2) 나라(한국) 차원
(1) 한국 사회문화
-. 흑인이 미국 대통령으로 당선된다는 것은 실질적 인종차별주의 국가인 한국에서 ‘깜둥이'비하 시각이 사라질 계기가 된다. 차별정도가 가장 심했을 흑인의 위상이 급변하므로, 비(非)백인 외국인 일반에 대해 갖고 있던 다수 한국인들의 ‘저열한'인식도 상당수준 개선될 것으로 보인다….
(2) 한국 정치
…오바마의 당선은 ‘시대착오', ‘시대순응', ‘시대선도'의 감각을 한국 국민에게, 그리고 정계에 심어줄 것으로 본다. 그래서 오바마의 당선을 국내정치적 차원에서 바란다. 매케인이 당선된다면, 기존, 아니 옛날 인물-통칭 구악(舊惡)들이 미국 매파들과의 인맥을 과시하며 거들먹거리는 참상을 봐야할 것이다. 하지만 오바마가 당선되면, 합리적인 젊은 우파들이 전면에 나서서 미국과의 관계를 재정립 할 가능성이 있다. 미국일변도의 의존패턴을 어떻게 극복할지가 주목된다. 적어도 이들은 ‘소미국주의'를 내세우지는 않으리라 기대한다. 그래서 매케인이 아니라 오바마의 당선을 바라마지 않는다.
(3) 한국 경제
…반면 오바마는 자유무역을 부정하진 않아도, 모든 것을 시장 자율에 맡기지는 않을 것이다. 일자리를 만들려면 자국산업보호가 절실하기 때문이다…. 특히 고용 효과가 큰 자동차 산업을 비롯한 제조업을 보호하기 위해서 오바마는 한국과 일본에 상당한 압력을 가할 것이다. …이 와중에 한국에서 자동차를 비롯한 내구재 제조업에 집중되어있던 산업구조가 급속히 변할 것이다. 그렇지 않아도 소비가 줄은 마당에 수출이 안 된데다, 압력이 가해지면서 비용까지 오른다. 계속 생산하겠다면 미국에다 공장을 짓는 수밖에 없다. 오바마가 그렇게 비난하던 일자리송출(Job Shipping)이 한국에서 벌어지게 된다. 노동의 비율이 큰 산업들이 송출되거나 사라지는 만큼, 한국의 실업률은 많이 높아질 것이다… 그 와중에 신(新)산업구조가 형성될 것이다. 문화, 소프트웨어, 환경, 통신, 지식산업 쪽이 오랜 시간에 걸쳐 성장할 것이다. 특히 오바마가 무역장벽으로 내세울 ‘환경'쪽의 급격한 발전이 예상된다. 간단히 말해서, 그렇지 않아도 오래 못 갔을 한국의 20세기형 산업구조, 절박하고 고통스럽게 21세기형으로 몰아가 줄 것 같아서 오바마를 지지한다.

3) 한반도 - 동북아시아 차원
…민주당-오바마라는 호기를 절대 놓치려 들지 않을 북한은 북-미관계에서 ‘엄청난 선물공세'를 벌일 가능성이 있다. 부시 집권 8년 동안 잃어버렸던 것들을 찾으려 굉장히 적극적으로 나올 것이다. 그리고 지금 확실하게 관계를 다져놓게 되면 적어도 오바마의 임기, 혹은 연임이라도 하게 된다면 10년에 가까운 충분한 시간을 벌게 된다….

(3) 그리고 오바마의 당선으로 북미관계가 개선된다면 북한이 조금 잘 살게 될 텐데 이것은 전혀 한국에 위협이 못되며, 장기적으론 이득이 된다. 북한이 어느 정도 살아야 통일을 한다고 가정 시 충격이 적은 것은 누구나 다 안다.

4) 세계 차원
(1) 비운의 진짜 대통령, 앨 고어(Al Gore)의 진가가 오바마 행정부에서 발휘될 가능성이 높다. 급격한 환경 친화적 정책이 예상된다. 특히 미국은 자국의 경제적 문제해결의 수단으로도 상당히 강력한 환경상의 규제 압박을 가해올 것이다.
(2) 금융위기와 아프가니스탄-이라크 전쟁을 통해 국력이 ‘너덜너덜'해진 미국은 다른 나라와의 ‘제대로 된' 공조가 절실해졌다. 미국 최고주의를 고수하려는 매케인은 이것이 불가능하다. 그러나 ‘전 세계에 친척이 퍼져있고(아프리카(친가)-아시아(여동생)-미국(외가)-유럽(독일에서 유학한 이복누나 아우마)', 유년기를 ‘세계 최대의 이슬람 국가인' 인도네시아에서 보냈고, 미국사회에서 인종정체성으로 고민한 오바마는 ‘미국최고주의'를 지양할, 아니 표면적으로는 많이 숨길 가능성이 있다. ..

* This post appears on Global Voices Online.

In the Netherlands, Michael van der Galien writes it is obvious the Republican Party has already set plans for the next presidential election.

“But the fact of the matter is, of course, that Republicans everywhere are thinking about 2012. Names are already being floated around. Gingrich is considered an option by Novak. Sarah Palin is the darling of the (social) conservative base, and potential frontrunner for the party’s nomination in 2012. Mitt Romney too is often mentioned as likely future leader of the party that lost so many seats in Congress this month and the presidential election.

Huckabee is certainly a future option as well, of course. He was the Christian conservative’s base darling this year. Romney was his main opponent: Huckabee seemed to be OK with a John McCain victory, but he truly hated and despised Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, who was the favorite candidate of the fiscal conservative but social moderate or even liberal faction of the party.”

The Dutch blogger then adds all citizens are anticipating the future election, despite what the mainstream media says.

“Whoever turns out to be the party’s frontrunner in 2012, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is also often mentioned as a man for the future, it is clear that Republicans are rightfully focusing on the future, wondering what man or woman can make their party victorious once again. The public talk about not thinking about 2012 is not more than that: talk. Everybody is looking towards 2012, and the most amibitious Republican politicians are positioning themselves for it.”

In Iceland, Vinay writes that Palin running in 2012 would be cheerless event, however, the problems Americans are facing cannot be fixed solely by the government.

“Whoever turns out to be the party’s frontrunner in 2012, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is also often mentioned as a man for the future, it is clear that Republicans are rightfully focusing on the future, wondering what man or woman can make their party victorious once again. The public talk about not thinking about 2012 is not more than that: talk. Everybody is looking towards 2012, and the most amibitious Republican politicians are positioning themselves for it.”

The blogger then adds, “A sad day, but Palin 2012 is no joke.”

Finally, a Canadian expat living in Taiwan writes that he was certain Palin would return.

“I just happened to search facebook for Sarah Palin.
Anyway…there’s, like, ONE group that’s for Sarah there and a whole bunch of groups against Sarah also but what’s really fungible is that the people have made their intentions manifest there as the group that’s for Sarah is growing but also all of the groups that are against Sarah have fewer members there! It’s called Sarah Palin 2012. don’tcha know.

I knew if I were patient she’d come back to me.”

Seneta Obama hatimaye ameshinda urais wa Marekani na anakuwa rais wa Kwanza Mweusi kwa historia. John Mc Cain amekuwa wa kwanza kukiri kuwa ameshindwa kiungwana na kumpongeza mwenzake Obama. Hili limekuwa funzo lingine kwa wagombea wetu wa kiafrika na kitanzania wanaposhindwa si kukimbilia mahakamani bali ni kukubali.

Chemi Che Mponda at Swahili Time settled for Barack Obama Wins Election 2008 as the headline. She adds:

Barack Obama ni Rais Mteule wa Marekani!!!! Senator wa Delaware Joe Biden, atakuwa makamu wa rais. Mungu yu mwema! Waafrika na hasa sisi kutoka Afrika Mashariki Tujivunie!
OBAMA UBARIKIWE!

Issa Michuzi just posted a collage of front pages of newspapers all decorated with Obama's victory headlines while Charahani posted photographs of president elect Obama and his family waving to the crowds and of people in tears after the historic win.

In a post titled Obama katoka mbali ati (Obama has come a long way), Issa Michuzi posted a number of Obama's photos. And, as if in a photo essay, Mwaipopo also posted Obama's photos from childhood to the great day. He also observed:

Obama! Obama!
Kila mtaa hapa bongo watu wote ni Obama, Obama kufuatia ushindi wake wa kishindo huko Marekani. Kila baada ya sentensi mbili inayofuatia ina neno ‘Obama'. Pegine wakati wafuasi wake wali0tapakaa ulimwenguni wakishangilia, yeye anatafakari ni kwa namna gani ataitoa Marekani (na sehemu zingene za dunia) hapo zilipo na kuzipeleka pengine palipo bora zaidi. Blogu hii inamtakia kila la heri katika kazi yake hiyo aliyoiomba kwa juhudi zote.

Nkwazi Nkuzi Muhango in Mpayukaji blog, Dira Yangu in Fungua Jicho, and Nukta77 all had the Obama's acceptance speech.

Nukta77 also posts an email from one of her reader's on what Obama should do in relation to Africa:

Obama angehutubia AU na awatake viongozi wa Afrika walifanye bara hili kuwa business patner na sio dampo la majaribio ya sera za mataifa makubwa na misaada”.

Kwa wale wanaotegemea misaada kutoka kwa Obama, ninamshauri Obama asitoe misaada kwani katika kusoma kwangu sijawahi kusikia taifa lolote lile ulimwenguni ambalo limetajirika kwa misaada. Maendeleo hayaletwi kwa wingi wa pesa bali kwa ubunifu, maarifa na kazi. Fedha na misaada ni nyenzo na sio mhimili wa kuleta maendeleo.

Nasikitika kuona kuwa vijana wasomi wetu hawaonyeshi kujifunza kutokana na ushindi wa Obama. Wale vijana wa Vyuoni wamebaki kucheza ‘twist' wakati muziki unaopigwa ni ‘bongo flava'!

To acknowledge this historic event Chemi wants Obama's sculpture to be added at Mt. Rushmore. A reader though, calls for caution:

Pamoja na kuwa shabiki wa Obama lakini ni bado mapema sana kwake kuwa mmoja wa marais mashuhuri Marekani.Dada Chemi inabidi athibitishe katika mandate period na ikiisha ndio tuzungumzie hilo.Hao waliopo kwenye Mt Rushmore waliwekwa pale baada ya kumaliza uatwala wao.

In Dar Es Salaam, Issa Michuzi took some photos of people wearing Obama's T-shirts. But the extent of Obamamania started even before he was elected when Tshirts designed by a local artist Mayunga and a Swahili book on Obama written by a Swahili blogger, Mjengwa were often sold out as recorded by CNN in this video found at Nukta77 blog:

* This post also appears in Global Voices Online.

Obama's victory was predicted and popularized in the social media, like in this YouTube interview (POL) with journalist Bartosz Węglarczyk, who shortly after the end of the campaign was strongly convinced about Obama's success. However, the enthusiastic welcome given to the winner has actually impressed Polish bloggers.

Marcin Gadzinski, the author of Biały Domek ('White House') blog on the U.S.-related issues, published a post titled ‘Thank you America,' reflecting the American happiness of the day (POL):

[…] And did you see those people in Grant Park in Chicago today?

And did you see the Black American guy with baby face and big ears, who was standing on the stage?
His father was from Kenya. His mother came from a village in Kansas. Today their son is the president of the most powerful country in the world.

The whole world watched it. And every one felt the unique American energy. Like the euphoria and pride after the landing on the moon. Like the grief after the Kennedy assassination. Like the fear and later the solidarity after 9/11. Big American emotions, like tsunami, flooding the world. […]

Because America chose Obama for their president today and they are proud of themselves. They should be. The whole world was keeping an eye on them all the way. Again.

Marcin is right stating that the Polish media was watching the elections. A leading radio station RMF FM created a portal. News station TVN24, famous for promoting news coverage with wide range of opinions, is still posting on the topic, including videos from Chicago. 10,386 people from Poland (based on IP addresses, not nationality) voted on ‘If the world could vote?‘ international website. Gazeta posted today more details of the voting, reporting that mainly younger generations and minorities contributed to the victory.

Blogger Paweł Adamiec, author of USA 2008 blog devoted to the U.S. elections, flagged up the importance of Obama's victory in the context of the American fight for equality. He praised Obama for his enigmatic personality, wise system of his campaign funding and his ability to appeal to the multicultural electorate. He concluded (POL):

Let me also congratulate the American citizens, who with the high percentage of votes proved how developed the American democracy is.

Simultaneously, Polish politicians started questioning Obama's competency. President Kaczyński, in an interview posted here, was seeking more information on the actual changes planned by the new president. Lech Wałęsa questioned the next steps of US presidency as well (POL):

I am worried, because winning is one thing, and actually achieving something with the victory is a different matter.

When talking about a potential shift in U.S. politics towards Poland, SLD party representative Jerzy Wenderlich suggested(POL):

Abolishing visa requirement for Poles would be a good start for the new administration.

On Politbiuro political news portal, user intel-e-gent raised an interesting issue for the Poles - that of the nuclear shield planned to be built on the territory of Poland (POL):

The historical victory of a Black American politician will not have a huge impact on the Poles, I believe. Maybe we will not need to build the shield.

Earlier this year, Obama, when asked about it, left the question open.

Bloggers like Jarosław Flis, Władysław Sidorowicz, Artur Zawisza and many others shared their views on the election in the Polish political context. People also shared comments on forums at Gazeta and TVN24. Goldenwoman01 wrote (POL):

In Poland, we cannot even see on the horizon a similar personality.

Regardless of what Obama chooses to do next, he is the man of the day in the Polish social media.

** This post also appears in Global Voices Online.

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.

With the victory of Barack Obama, the US president elect, many Pakistanis believe that Americans have taken their revenge by exercising their democratic power. Before the elections the blogosphere was divided on Obama's views about Pakistan. He once suggested that if he is elected he will unilaterally attack inside the Pakistani territory to hunt down the terrorists. Although some stood by Obama, many Pakistanis had reservations about him because of this. The other candidate John McCain was not popular among Pakistanis, so many decided not to support either of them at this stage.

But Obama was able to regain some Pakistani support when he cleared the confusion regarding his statement on Pakistan in a debate with McCain:

Video uploaded to YouTube by Townhalldebate08

Another reason for Pakistanis supporting Obama is that the people believe that he is the person who understands Muslims better than John McCain. And of course, the hope is there that Obama can play a positive role in building bridges between Muslims and the West.

Let us have a look at the recent posts of Pakistani blogosphere on this issue.

Teeth Maestro Explains the reasons why he is supporting Barak Obama:

The conclusion I have achieved is most definitely debatable, I choose to look beyond mere words and see a possible solution for the mess in Pakistan. For me Obama represents a fresh change in the White House, it is my understanding that they both propose ‘approximately’ the same line of action for Pakistan. Obama wishes to quickly clean up the terrorism threat in Pakistan, while McCain proposes a slow but extensively drawn out plan of action, which I feel actually means a long term American presence in Pakistan. If they are both generally coming with the same mindset then I feel I would carefully put my eggs into Obama’s basket.

Temporal at Teeth Maestro writes about Obama's victory:

Will the US ever be the same again?

Since life is all about flux, we continuously change, therefore any questions of change can be rhetorical in nature.

Yes, caution is advised and one must never underestimate the shenanigans of the neconzix, but the looming victory of Barack Hussein Obama (according to these pundits and this study of polls by Nat Silver) to come (on) November 4, 2008 will be a global watershed event.

R. MAK at Lahore MetBlogs tries to compare US and Pakistan Election scenarios:

Where else an immigrant family can rise to such riches… A true personification of “American Dream”. As I watched the speech, I was trying to find similarities and differences between Pakistan and America.

The way Obama interacted with the crowd reminded me of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Only one leader in known history of Pakistan had such a charisma… Also I do see some sparks of such charisma in Lawyers Movement. 

Adil Najam at Pakistaniat shares his concerns:

Without losing sight of the fact that Americans will, and should, elect the President they think is best for America, not for Pakistan - and not withstanding my own expressed view that Pakistani-Americans will also be voting this time on their own domestic policy concerns and not on Pakistan’s foreign policy preferences - one does wonder how a new administration in Washington (now that there is already a new administration in Islamabad) might impact Pakistan.

M. Junaid Khan at Pro-Pakistan hopes:

With an Democrat sitting in White House, I am sure less focus will be placed on wars and more focus will be on the economic betterment of America and its allies.

Lets hope the 44th American President proves himself a good choice for the large number of Muslims in America as well as outside who voted for him. 

I personally appreciate the power of democracy in America and I would like to end with the following words of Obama:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

* This post also appears in Global Voices Online.

Rogue Economist hopes there will be “changes” as well in Brunei:

“It's official. The most powerful man on earth is now Barack Obama. This proves that nothing is impossible in this world, as long as you work (hard) for it. (Oh please God, Brunei needs someone like this to make changes!)”

Cambodia Calling reminds Obama about the challenges he will face:

“Why am I interested? Because it is everyone's business who becomes the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. The pressure on Obama will be immense. If Obama fails to deliver, it'll be a long time coming for another black president in the US.”

Return to Rai Ketak compares Obama’s victory to East Timor’s independence celebration:

“Today, phone calls and emails, online chats…All with one profoundly positive message. History does not make us. We make history. I have not felt like this since May 20, 2002. And one Timorese friend made the comparison over email as well:

“After Timorese independence, the election of Barack Obama is one of the great events of the 21st century. It does not matter what may come to pass afterwards. The great step has already been taken.”

Indonesia Anonymus wonders whether Indonesians will vote an Obama-like candidate:

“Indonesians, of course, just like many people in any other countries, are mostly for Obama. So we love Obama, no doubt about it. Now the question is: if there is an ‘obama' in our country, will we be able to spot him? Or better yet, will we vote for him?

“In Indonesia, that would make our ‘obama' half native Indonesian and half Chinese. Let's just say, our ‘obama' has a javanese mother from Solo, central Java, and an Indonesian-Chinese father with ancestors from Fujian province, China.”

GJ Jakarta notes that the world has high expectations for Obama:

“This is a huge amount of pressure for this guy, he has not only the weight of Americans’ expectations, but that of the entire world.

“The reality is there will still be a financial crisis, the USA will be in recession, there will still be soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of people will be out of work, many more will lose their homes. I know this guy didn't do that, he's not responsible, and people are just looking for a happy story, something for the future, some shining light from the dark tunnel.”

Mahaguru58 from Malaysia believes America has redeemed itself by electing Obama:

“America has redeemed itself today by electing a man whom we can all respect and honor. Just listening to him speak, gives us a sense of hope. Each word that he utters, each sentence that he proclaims, returns a sense of goodwill to America. Today, the whole world celebrates the coming of a new era.”

Obnoxious 5xmom advises Malaysian bloggers who are overjoyed by Obama’s victory to do something about Malaysia’s local problems:

“It doesn’t make sense. So many Malaysian bloggers are ooooing and ahhhaing over how Obama has won the USA election. They write so passionately about him and how he is going to bring changes to the United States and the world.

“Yet, in our very own backyard, here in beautiful Malaysia, they never even bother to do something about it. Why so over the moon with what is happening in the USA when we cannot even try to make the changes over here in our country?

“Why I don’t see them ever question our own country’s policies? Why I don’t see them ever get agitated with the things that happen over here that affects us? Why gushing over something over at the USA when we cannot even lift a finger to do something here?”

Noting that America has achieved a breakthrough after electing Obama, Lim Kit Siang bemoans the quality of race relations and nation-building in Malaysia:

“Obama’s historic breakthrough make many Malaysians ask whether it is possible for a Chinese, Indian, Kadazan to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia although the Constitution is very clear that any Malaysian citizen, regardless of race or religion can become Prime Minister.

“If such a question is asked 50 years ago, the nation’s founders would unhesitatingly answered in the positive as there is no constitutional bar - separate from the question of whether it was likely to happen.

“But if the same question is asked now, there will be strong voices (as heard in Parliament today when this question was posed) who would rise up to say no.

“Why is Malaysian race relations and nation-building going backwards in the past 50 years as compared to the historic breakthrough in race relations in the United States with Obama’s historic victory in the US presidential elections?”

Rocky's bru from Malaysia has some questions for Obama:

“Will he be able to turn around the US economy? Will he close down Guantanamo Bay? Will he stop America's holy War against Terror? I have my doubts. But who cares, uh? They say anyone after Bush would/should make a better US President, at least to the rest of the miserable world.”

The US embassy in Thailand held a mock elections in Bangkok. Guess who won in the ballots? HaPPi like a HiPPo describes the mood in Bangkok:

“In the past few days, Thai television and radio channels in Bangkok have been talking a lot about Obama and seem to have forgotten about PAD protesters. Every Thai person I know supports Obama and even the radio jockeys and news presenters love him. Soon we can expect Obama dolls and other goodies being sold on the Thai streets.”

DK from Singapore was first worried over the selection of Obama as the Democrat’s candidate:

“I must admit that I was kinda worried when I learned that Obama is the Democrat candidate instead of Hillary. My main concern was that he is a black and America might not be really for a black president yet. I’m glad I was wrong. I’m glad Obama is elected as the President of United States. And although we don’t know if he is the right person to bring USA and the world out of recession, we know that we have better chance with him in the White House.”

Stars in the making from Singapore is a supporter of McCain:

“Tears came to my eyes when I watched John McCain give his final speech of this election campaign. In my mind, John McCain should be the next President of the USA. His experience in foreign affairs & war will stand America in good stead, and to me, he is the stability that America & the world needs during these turbulent times.

“But America voted for “Change”. Obama is a good man, and will lead the country with integrity. He is a symbol of the American Dream, but how long will this dream last? Will reality bite when Obama steps into his first year in office? Will expectations be too much for him to meet?”

Obama has chosen a Filipino as his consultant on Asia Pacific issues. At midfield reacts:

“For Filipinos, we will now to see whether having a Filipina as his main consultant of Asia Pacific issues will benefit us and lead to Obama revisiting his position against the Filipino USAFFE veterans equity bill and other issues, not least of them how the war on terror is being carried out here.”

A Filipina Mom Blogger is curious about Obama’s foreign policy:

“As a Filipino, I am interested in Senator Barrack Obama’s foreign policy. In Obama, I see a president willing to reach out to world leaders, whether friend and enemy, to open dialogue and resolve differences through diplomacy rather than military engagement. After all, when did it hurt to sit down and talk to our enemies?

“An Obama election will send a signal to minorities across America and to countries around the world that the US is breaking through the racial divide, opening their hearts to people of all colors and religion.”

Tonyo Cruz asks Filipino activists to emulate Obama’s campaign strategies:

“For Filipinos, let us draw inspiration from Obama’s victory. Let us raise the call for change this early (Obama started his campaign two years ago; the next elections here will be in less than two years!), challenge the political parties, and make our issues the central issues in the presidential campaign. Of course, the Philippine political system is a totally different animal compared to the US system. But that should not be an excuse to throw out the whole Obama experience. There are plenty of lessons to learn and perhaps to also apply in our own situations.”

To Medvedev's proposal to lengthen the presidential term in Russia from four to six years, LJ user oleg-kozyrev responded (RUS):

I've found a way out. I support Medvedev's proposal to rule for six years. Only along with that, they should also change the legislation regarding the duration of the year. One year has to be 243 days long.

Although in his address Medvedev did not congratulate Obama on his victory, nor did he mention the U.S. president-elect by name, he nevertheless sent a harsh message by way of a greeting, promising, among other things, to deploy short-range Iskander missile system in Kaliningrad region, on Russia's western border, in order “to effectively counter the persistent and consistent attempts of the current American administration to install new elements of a global missile defence system in Europe.”

Below is what some Russian bloggers wrote in response to the part of Medvedev's address that was meant as much for the international audiences as for the domestic ones.

LJ user viking-nord (RUS):

Now, tell me why did Medvedev have to wait for the outcome of the U.S. election to deliver his address to the Federal Assembly??? No steps whatsoever have been taken towards improvement of the relations with the United States.

I wanted to hear him say that he was starting a new page in the relationship with the new U.S. administration. Like, for example, we'll begin negotiations on the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. But nothing of this kind has been said. Quite the opposite, this is how it sounded - you deploy, we don't care, and as a response, we'll place Iskanders in Kaliningrad and leave a missile division deployed in Kozelsk. That is, we are launching an arms race at the time of an economic crisis!!! Not bad, right???

In general, I think even Obama could not expect anything like this… And he could have retreated with the missile defense system, as this is an expensive delight, and the Democrats, as a rule, are very practical.

A few comments to this post:

disaster_cake:

Don't be naive, nothing will change in the relationship between Russia and America in the nearest future. A change of regime on one side doesn't mean anything. Besides, the attitude towards Russia is perhaps the only point on which Obama agreed with McCain during the debates.

***

prikolruss:

They need an enemy. Hence the provocation and ruthlessness. They can't do without an enemy, can they??? :(((

***

viking_nord:

An image of an external enemy is needed to suppress domestic freedoms.

LJ user telemont (RUS):

[…] If there'd been no [address by Medvedev on Nov. 5], all the commentators would've been discussing the U.S. election, and domestic realities would have inevitably been compared to the American ones. By stepping out onto the podium and dropping a set of pre-made chips, Medvedev has shifted the focus of public attention from the issues that are dangerous to the regime.

Exactly the same approach was used at the time of the [Beslan tragedy]: when the public turned out to have many questions that were harsh and very unpleasant for the regime, Putin all of a sudden proposed to eliminate regional governor's elections. Honestly, [an irrelevant] initiative, but it worked great: everyone rushed off to argue, select and appoint right away, forgetting about the children who had died.

In another post, LJ user telemont noted (RUS) that trying to figure out the subtext of Medvedev's message is nothing but an exercise in futility:

[…] What's the point of looking for meaning in the addresses of people who don't assume responsibility even for their actions, let alone their words.

(A selection of links to English-language bloggers' reactions to Medvedev's address is here.)

* This post also appears in Global Voices Online.

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

With votes still being counted in a few states, New York Magazine’s John Heilemann claimed that the web played a transformative role in this year’s election, much like television did for the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon contest. Arianna Huffington boasted that without his mastery of the internet, Barack Obama would not be President-Elect today.

For politicians, the worst thing that can happen is to be ignored. ReadWriteWeb reports that between the two political conventions and Election Day, Obama-Biden recorded more than 500 million blog postings. Of course, it couldn’t have all been positive, but compare that to the McCain-Palin ticket, which only received 150 million posts.

Obama also beat out McCain on social networks. In the Summer of 2007, the President-Elect’s campaign began signing fans up to receive “tweets” on Twitter. Obama’s Facebook page has more than a million friends. There’s also the official Barack Obama blog and a separate channel on You Tube. The campaign also leveraged new media platforms like LinkedIn, MySpace, FriendFeed and MeetUp. All these tools helped keep the candidate in peoples' thoughts, help organize supporters and assisted in get-out-the-vote campaigns, especially important considering the number of people who turned out to cast ballots.

Then came the real-time connection with supporters, from Obama texting people to announce his choice for Vice President (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/11/obama_plans_novel_text_vp_anno.html) to posting Flickr photos from election night. (http://flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157608716313371/) These tools worked far from perfectly, but they allowed the campaign to circumvent traditional media and control the flow of information.

From ZenGuide in the United Kingdom, here is a good overview on the importance of social media in this election:

If anyone is still sceptical about the power of social media, all you have to do is take a look at its role in the making of America’s first African American president. Of all the candidates, Barack Obama has probably been the most socially connected online throughout the Democratic nomination race and also in the last year going head to head with John MCain….

But a bunch of social media tools in themselves are not going to make a president all by themselves. The key is how they were used by the Obama campaign. Supporters, fans and followers were encouraged to take an action to show their support for the campaign - whether by organising local events or giving a donation, however small or large, or raising funds. According to the BBC, Obama’s online campaign “attracted more than three million donors. They donated about $650m (£403m) - more than both presidential contenders in 2004 combined.” With an overflowing war chest, he could out-do McCain by buying more airtime in the traditional broadcast media and also extend his own on-the-ground real world contact through more local outreach offices than the Republican campaign.

Obama’s success was not entirely due to social media but he used it smartly in conjunction with other communication tools. Broadcast media is still hugely influential and there’s nothing that will replace face to face human contact whether it’s through speeches at rallies or simply walking among the people and kissing babies. But social media broadened his reach to those people he might not have otherwise been able to connect with and it also enabled ordinary people to do small things which came together as a whole to contibute to an enormous win.

Marc Rogatschnig writes in the South African site Ideate covering small business issues that “the politics of power may be disappearing right before our eyes.”

Obama has secured the most financial support ever in a US presidential campaign and has mobilized over 2 million facebook members to his profile. He has leveraged social media and relied almost entirely on the networks of supporters across the country to mobilize the population. He couldn’t have done that by giving each small support base a daily pep talk; he could only have done that by engaging high energy followship through trusting relationships!

An interesting comment on branding from Fred:

One thing that strikes me about Obama is his brilliant ability in personal branding. He has been consistent and pervasive, his ‘brand positioning’ has been spot on in differentiating himself from the opposition, and his provision of solutions within his message has been outstanding.

Now, the big question is (this is where many marketing and branding campaigns fall flat) is his ability to deliver on the very big promises contained within the message he’s conveyed.

Trevor Cook, who covers PR, social media and politics for the Crickey site in Australia doesn’t expect the Obama administration to put down these tools when it moves into power.

If Obama keeps using social media in the White House, and why not, the impact on corporate, NGO and government interest in social media is going to be huge.

Those of us who have been evangelising corporate social media are in for a fairly exciting time I reckon.

From Grant at One Rock at a Time, entrepreneurs have a lot to learn from the Obama campaign, which won with “perfect (marketing) precision.” Here are a few:

The brand and message stayed the same from start to finish (can anyone remember McCain’s first message??) - it incorporated ‘experience’

…The Obama online campaign didn’t waiver or deviate based on polls or public opinion – it had a well planned strategy and timeline that it followed to the letter. I’m certain there was some flexibility and ‘tweaks’ that happened, but with no prior roadmap or campaign precedent to learn from they leveraged non-political ‘real world’ experience and success to plan a multi channel branding & marketing campaign as if they were launching a new cereal or auto brand.

…Treating the Presidential Candidate as a consumer product, carefully packaged and promoted (and at the right price to make the sale easier), the Obama campaign stepped out of the ‘normal’ mold of big smiles, big promises and baby-kissing. Obama, as an eloquent and effective ‘brand ambassador’ was able to deliver and embody the brand message with a high degree of success (what greater change than a string of white to black?)

Finally, a comment on the blog The Lovable Rogue Also Known as Chris from Danny Brown asks us to get a little more realistic in how we approach social media:

Although I feel social media has more pros than cons, I'm not naive enough to think it's going to solve the world's ills or make your business suddenly take off into the stratosphere.

It's like anything - it has its pluses and benefits. What you get out of it is down to how you use it and using the right tools for your needs.

The one thing I don't like about social media is the surge of self-pronounced experts and gurus. There are definitely some that stand head and shoulders above anyone else in knowledge, but even the best of these experts admit to still learning.

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.