ARUBA & GUYANA
Arubagirl dubbed the occasion a “happy day”, the significance of which was not lost on diaspora blogger Signifying Guyana:

Now it's real. America has elected its first Black president. And I hope many more like John Lewis, who were resilient in the face of a brutality that sought to deny them their basic human rights, are still around to cry and bear witness to this moment that is so full of America's cruel past, and its potentially healing present.

Her compatriots back home, however, were not as prepared to accept America's presidential choice as a positive step. Guyana 911 said:

I'm starting to get a little bad feeling about Obama. I am pretty confident that if McCain had a competent running mate it would of been a different tune tonight…to each his own I guess. What I'm trying to say is if Obama was a white man…people wouldn't have voted as shallowly in some cases. A fault with a democracy I suppose. It's a step in some sort of direction, however. Maybe the next time a black and a white man come up head to head it's just going to be on the issues.

Living Guyana didn't see what the big deal was and focused his attention on whether Obama, “as a sitting US president, will visit Guyana”:

He will have four years to do it. Will he? Or will he just ignore us as all other US presidents (save for Jimmy Carter) have?

JAMAICA
Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp, however, was of the firm opinion that “the election of Barack Hussein Obama to the highest office in the country has…changed the course of history”:

On many levels, Mr. Obama's election has meant a change in the way we think about each other. Many white Americans have had to put aside their fears of race retribution and their doubts that an African American had the intellectual acumen for the presidency. Within the African American community, there is a sense of triumph and euphoria–one of their own has risen from the nightmare of slavery, racism, and segregation to realize the theme encoded in the so-called “Negro Spirituals”—the dream of freedom.

And yet as revolutionary as Mr. Obama's election appears, there is also something profoundly traditional in the choice that is steeped in American values…Mr. Obama's presidency is symbolic of the change we desire. But as my Sunday school teacher used to say, ‘Faith without works is dead.' And as Mr. Obama early in the campaign reminded us, ‘This election is not about me, it's about you.' How much were we willing to give up, sacrifice, to become better versions of ourselves?

Well, we've taken the first step. But this change won't be easy.

Idle Yout Speeks agreed that Obama was “the best man for the job”, while Moppet waxed poetic about the fact that she could witness this day “in (her) sons' lifetime”:

Nobody's stereotype; America's ambition.

Obama is calmer than calm itself.

Realization of MLK's impossible dream.

Obama is vital, absolutely alive.
God bless him. God guide him. God grant him an' Biden wisdom.
God love him. It's impossible not to love him.

Abeng News Magazine's Kwame McPherson also thought Obama was poetry in motion, while YardFlex.com was quick to congratulate Obama and Biden on their win:

President Obama is definitely fresh, with a global background and global view that will serve to bolster his commitment to bring about change in Washington.

Jamaicans in the US have primarily backed the Obama / Joe Biden campaign and have been quite organized and outspoken, making sure to spread the word and positively impact the outcome.

Jamaicans are extremely proud of President Barack Obama and are thrilled by the success of their efforts in supporting what is the most exiting phenomenon that has appeared on the political scene in decades.

The magnitude of the moment was not lost on Long Bench, who was actually at Chicago's Grant Park:

What a moment. What a speech. What a speech. What depth of character. What a quality person. What a long time for the 106 year old woman from Atlanta to wait for someone of this caliber to step into the role of leader of this United States of America. How could anyone not want this man to be the person who represents them and acts on their behalf on the world stage? He even recognized his non-supporters and did not demonize them - what a display of grace and humility!

I was so moved by the whole thing, I could seriously even imagine myself living here in this city. America seems almost tolerable again. And you know what else? As I listened to him speak, I knew that he would never see it as politically expedient to declare that I, and persons who share my sexual orientation, could not have a place in his Cabinet. That would simply be unthinkable. He is a model of leadership that we could all learn something from.

You really had to be here. It was worth every last minute and cent to have witnessed and participated in this moment

Life, Unscripted, on the Rock wished “Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcom X could be alive to witness this historic day” and Jamaican-born author Pamela Mordecai “wanted to share some things (she) found in (her) little campaign to help Catholics and Evangelicals…see that it's perfectly alright to vote for Obama”:

Here's a quote from a Catholic man planning to vote for Barack Obama: ‘Before abortion was an issue for people, the plight of the african-american was an issue. That issue has never totally been resolved, largely because radical reconstruction in the post civil war era was highjacked by scared white people who didn't like the fact that African-americans were threatening to take the majority away from the whites in southern states… The civil right's movement brought us a little bit closer to equal rights, but not quite all the way. As this issue has been one for longer than the woe v. wade issue has been in existence, I'm voting to settle the problem which has been in longer need of correction.' (I've quoted him verbatim…)

Meanwhile, Francis Wade, a Jamaican who lived in the U.S. for many years before recently deciding to return to Kingston, admitted that he suddenly had “a strong feeling of missing being in America”:

As the results came in for Obama's victory — a landslide in electoral terms — the hope that I can dimly remember associating with the world's foremost democracy started to seep back in, after what seems like an eternity of dark gloom.

The Bush years made me glad to be living back home in Jamaica, away from the ugliness, wars and fear that started for me in 2000 with the Bush election “victory.”

Now, it seems, America is back… simply by demonstrating that so much is possible for a Black man, and by extension, for every person in the world who has ever been told that that “they can't.”

Whether or not Obama turns out to be a great president or not, at this point in time humanity has won an important victory of possibility over cynicism, resignation and despair.

BERMUDA
Further north, Bermudian bloggers were also weighing in. Breezeblog said he has “never been more optimistic about an American presidency” in his lifetime:

President-Elect Barack Obama … it still sounds scarcely believable. It was a privilege to watch this historic moment for America, minorities, and the world when an African-American who was unknown four years ago has achieved a truly astonishing political feat. The audacity of hope indeed.

Vexed Bermoothes thought that Obama “won the US election with a thundering mandate” and called November 4, 2008 “a remarkable day”:

Like Bermuda, America wants new faces and a determination to face the issues rather than wallow in past battles and fears. Put simply, the electorate is tired of the same old shit…the reasonable expectation that the victory is not a mandate for payback but a license to govern with transparency, accountability, and equity.

FreshieBlog declared that he “would be proud to be an American”, but Catch a fire lost his bet that McCain would win:

That's okay. As I’ve said before, I regard Mr. Obama as a lesser evil than Mr. McCain. Watching Mr. McCain’s concession speech though, one did have to wonder why he didn’t speak like that more during the campaign. With the close margin of victory by popular vote, more of that ‘real’ McCain may well have been enough to trump the negative Palin factor and win the election for him.

BARBADOS
Barbadian bloggers, some of the most politically outspoken in the region, were also celebrating the victory. Barbados Free Press was reveling in the accuracy of its election predictions:

In the middle of the Obama - Hillary runoff for the Democratic nomination, we declared that Obama would be the next President of the United States. We felt that victory months ago, but we also said that all this excitement over a black President would soon give way to the fact that Barack Obama’s policies with offshore banking and taxation are distinctly hostile to the interests of Barbados. Black majority nations are going to be very surprised if they think that President Obama will place their interests over the interests of his country.

Still, the image of the United States has been changed overnight and that change may help on many worldwide fronts where the USA has assumed responsibilities or powers in situations it has no right sticking its nose into.

Young diaspora blogger Jdid understood that he was witnessing a piece of history:

Stop for a minute. Just stop. Consider where you are right now in your life and where you were when you heard the news that Barack Obama had won the US presidential election. Bask in the elation and the euphoria, take in the sights and the sounds. Remember them!

Without overly indulging in hyperbole this is truly a momentous occasion. In my lifetime so far I've seen such events as the end of apartheid and the end of the cold war. Those were moments back then that I hoped might come but still never really dreamed would occur. Similarly but oh so much more of a dream, pipe dream even, was the concept of a black president in the US.

We have a new hero. Especially for us who are here in North America as minorities. We no longer only need look to foreign leaders or dead African kings and Pharaohs or Marcus, Martin and Malcolm to point out to our children what black people have and can achieved. We have a real live person closer to home who isn't a rapper, who isn't an athlete, who isn't an entertainer who we can say has achieved the impossible, defied the odds, made it to the very top and looks like you and I.

Cheese-on-bread! added:

Barack Obama's 349 electoral votes to John McCain's 162 signal more than a Democratic win over the Republicans; they symbolise a chance for the world to experience a paradigm shift, to look beyond race and the colour of a man's skin to value his mettle and soul. All I can say is that I feel proud that my son can grow up in a world where he can look at Obama's example and dare to dream.

…while Caribbean Lionesse apologized to America:

America… my bad. We were wrong about you. We completely underestimated you.
And this morning, I am happy to admit I was wrong.

I did not think that Americans were ready to elect a black president. I was convinced, as we all were, that you could not overcome your ‘original sin' of slavery that has tainted racial relations for all of your existence.

Clearly, President-elect Barack Obama saw something that the rest of us did not see. Clearly, you knew within yourself that the world was wrong. That you were bigger and you had come far enough and you were ready.

I am in awe.

CUBA
Cuban bloggers - particularly those in the diaspora - may also have been in awe, but for different reasons. Babalu Blog was gracious about the loss:

Despite my guy having lost and whatever negative feelings that brought upon me, I couldnt help but smile as I watched and listened to fellow Americans rejoicing for being Americans. Believe it or not, it made me feel good. This is, indeed, the greatest country on Earth.

So, despite some trepidation over President elect Obama's possible future policies, and despite a few folks stating overtly that anyone that voted for McCain had to be 'stupid', I'd like to congratulate the President elect and his supporters.

The Cuban Triangle also acknowledged the historical significance of the victory, as he told of an encounter he had at one of Obama's rallies:

Long before the program began, I turned to a black man standing next to me and made an attempt at light humor, telling him that in about three and a half hours, the program would be starting right up.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life,” he responded.

I got the point.

Blog for Cuba thought that Obama's win validates “what we conservatives have always understood, that the USA is the greatest country on earth, a beacon of freedom, where by the pursuit of happiness and the virtue of hard work anyone, no matter how humble their birth, can attain their dreams”. But he also made sure to turn the spotlight right back to Cuba:

Meanwhile, back in the gulag, Cuba's political prisoners are still not free, and 12 million Cubans still lack Human Rights, and are still Castro's slaves. This morning, just like yesterday Cubans still must resolver to put food in their stomachs, and to survive the repression and hardships the Castro dictatorship imposes upon them.

Obama said he will change the world. We shall see.

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES & DOMINICA
Bloggers from the Windward Islands also had their say. Abeni was proud to announce that…

After centuries of subjugation and segregation I am unashamedly celebrating the fact that a black man is now the Commander in Chief of the United States of the America.

…while Dominica Weekly simply said:

Change has come to America and the world.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Down at the southern end of the Caribbean archipelago, bloggers were also celebrating. Coffeewallah had just two words - Barack Obama:

The world changed last night, an infinitesimal shift, those tiny ripples are going to get bigger as the weeks go by, because despite the political game, there is now someone whose office holds so much world significance, whose thinking seems to be radically different from business as usual.

Good luck to you Mr. President.

Media Watch thought that McCain's concession speech contained “lessons for local politicians on how to concede defeat without dividing a nation”, while KnowProSE.com wondered about the role of the Internet in Barack Obama's success - “not in the media blitzes that were focused on the American people, but through discussion using the Internet.”

Notes from Port of Spain urged people to savour the moment:

It's enough to see the end of cowboy politics, at least for now. To see the back of Dubya and Dick and Rumsfeld and Rove, and the shame and disgrace they have brought upon America. To see the end of a man who spent eight presidential years working through private traumas concerning his father. To have avoided the possibility of a President Palin. To move away from the politics of aggression, belligerence, arrogance and pugnacity.

That's more than enough for one sun-soaked morning.

Enjoying the moment was just what Trinidadian diaspora bloggers were doing, with photo-blogger Chookooloonks saying:

I admit it: I burst into tears.

Finally, Guanaguanare said that he looked forward to the U.S. being rewarded for their courage:

Many Americans understood that it could not be business as usual and they voted for change. Only time will tell what will be accomplished in the future but I want to acknowledge what went into the momentous victory that was accomplished tonight. I dream of a better day for all people all over the world. I dare to believe that this might be a beginning.

Letters from Grenada, who was liveblogging the election, is thrilled at the results:

11:51 PM: It’s over. Wow. Thank you, California. Wow. Wow.

Blogging from Jamaica, miss mel comments:

You've finally realised as a group (in your 44th presidential race) that women and minorities (maybe I should just tie that up and say marginalised groups) have front line potential.

Fellow Jamaican Stunner waxes a bit more poetic:

So much persons in the US, in Europe and in the Caribbean was hoping and keeping their finger crossed that Obama would carry home the victory. It's almost unheard of, a non-white being elected as the president of the united states of America!

The issue should be who is best suited for the job and not the colour of ones skin, but one cannot help but to feel proud that a black man has accomplished what most if not all of us felt was impossible… well until now.

I am not into politics, but I can't help feeling overwhelmed with emotions after witnessing such a great historic moments. Congratulations Barack Obama!!!

But Stunner admits there are a few unknowns:

This is just the beginning though, there is a lot of work at hand for the new president. The American economy, the world economy, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the environment and international relations. What does his victory mean for us in the Caribbean? Will we benefit form Obama's victory? Will he truly make a good president? Will his policies make the world better? There are a lot more questions to be answered along with these and only time will tell.

The Devil Island, blogging from Bermuda, wanted to be the first web cartoonist to congratulate Obama on his historic win, while Barbados diaspora blogger Keltruth Corp says:

It did not take long tonight for Obama to build an insurmountable lead against McCain. I can get an early night’s sleep!

This will be a new era in World Politics, as the American political landscape becomes much more liberal and less militaristic.

The offshore industry in Barbados must have some concerns, as it will not be business as usual!

While some bloggers are already analysing what this could mean for the region, Trinidad and Tobago-based Liming House is still trying to grasp the significance of what just happened, saying simply:

Words fail.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines blogger Numalali says:

Barack Obama is an inspiration to all mankind. Well done my brother!

Vincentian compatriot Lullabies, Fairy Tales and other Self-Delusions adds:

America has spoken. The rest of us applaud their amazing decision.

Barbados Free Press doesn't mince words:

There is a lot at stake in the US Presidential election that goes far beyond who will be the leader of that country for the next four years. Whether Obama is white, black, coffee or purple doesn’t count anything beside the specter of the United States continuing along it’s current path.

That military-industrial complex has run free since 9/11 and continues to do so. Under the guise of protecting people from Muslim terrorists, the United States government and other world governments have convinced their populations to surrender hard-won freedoms and individual rights. Breaches of the existing human rights and personal freedoms laws by authorities are treated with indifference by all sectors of Western governments - and that includes the Barbados government.

There is much at stake in the US election for Barbados and the rest of the world.

Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life refers to a poll published in The Economist magazine to underscore the fact that the world appears to favour Barack Obama:

I don’t intend to tell Americans who to vote for but the World seems to have made up its mind.

Jamaican blog A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah even posts some videos to prove the extent to which “the Caribbean community supports Barack Obama”, but some bloggers are not comfortable counting their chickens just yet. Numalali, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, says:

All the indicators point to a victory for Barack Obama. He is ahead on every predictive index. But, can we count on the the polls, the pundits and the predictions? Is America ready for a black man, a black woman, a black family in charge of the White House? Like millions around the world I await with bated breath.

In a follow-up post, Numalali continues:

The whole world is in a frenzy. Both Obama critics and supporters are doing all they they could to either diefy or demonize him. Let us all wait and see what happens on Tuesday.

Womanish Words (from the Bahamas) is optimistic:

Amazing days, America appears to be on the verge of electing a Black president. This is really a ray of light and hope for the world. Obama’s election will change everything. Change is good. I’m grateful to be here to witness it. I grew up electing Black prime ministers. But there I was, keening for a good thirty three seconds at the thought of a new world leader who is actually a good man. And just to make it all the better, he's Black. He's a symbol of a new day dawning, a new generation emerging, a new era beginning. After the tears, I forced myself to remember that it's not over yet.

It certainly isn't over yet. Circles Robinson, blogging from Havana, knows that there is a lot at stake:

The US elections on Tuesday have overshadowed my thoughts. I’m not alone. A lot of people on the island are wondering what’s going to happen, as is a good chunk of the world.

Up until the explosion of the current financial crisis, I firmly believed that John McCain was going to be the next president, the same way that I thought George W. Bush would win reelection in 2004.

The race and terror cards and preference for the old but known seemed to me more powerful than anything the Obama campaign could come up with.

I still fear that McCain has a shot to win, but I’m no longer so sure of my predictions for the US electorate.

There’s a lot of responsibility on the backs of US voters on Tuesday. Cubans like the rest of the world will be watching with angst.

An American living in the Caribbean writes in her blog, Letters from Grenada:

I admit I’m more than a little nervous. I’m a lot nervous.

I can easily recall how casually confident I was in 2000. In 2004 I was fiercely confident, because how could lightning strike twice? (Answer: Easily, if you’re still standing in the same place.)

But it will be different this time! Wednesday’s going to a (real) new morning in America.

Bermudian blogger The Devil Island can't stand the tension and posts one of his signature cartoons to prove it, while his compatriot Breezeblog implores Americans to “do the right thing - for humanity’s sake”:

With just a few hours to go, here’s hoping that Americans finally do the right thing and make history by electing Barack Obama President. They couldn’t possibly screw it up a third time, could they?

Barbados Underground has no problem with calling a win for Obama “by a landslide”:

If we are to judge by the results of our unscientific poll, Obama will be the winner of the USA 2008 Presidential election with over 400 electoral votes. After careful analysis we are prepared to say that Democrat Presidential hopeful Barack Obama will win with 300+ Electoral votes.

It has been an amazing campaign for several reasons. As the world watches, the United States of America seems set to catapult a man of colour into the White House. When it does happen the world maybe changed forever.

Trinidad-based Coffeewallah, who maintains that “every day is history in the making”, concedes that today is a “red letter day” for America:

Whatever happens…there will a first, either first Black American President or first Woman Vice President. I wonder at the American people who constantly cannot understand why the rest of the world “does not like us”, we've seen up close and personal what you really think. Those of us that are a different colour have no illusions at all, as we say in the Caribbean, “your business in the road”. I hope that Barack Obama wins, decisively. What a message that's going to send…

Chookooloonks, a Trinidad diaspora blogger who is also a US citizen, says:

Everything is about to change. Regardless of who wins the election, in my opinion this has been one of the hottest, most contentious races in recent history. Regardless of who wins the election, there will be a new president of the United States, the first new American leader in 8 years, and the results of this election will have global impact. Regardless of who wins the election, things are going to change.

And, for the first time since I became a U.S. citizen 14 years ago, I find myself really emotionally invested in the outcome: dear God, I care. I really, really care.

The opportunity to vote is one of those times when you get to draw a line in the sand, put your stake in the ground, and do whatever other metaphor you can think of that says, “hear me, dammit. I count. I matter. I believe this to be true.” The act of pulling that lever, or pressing that button, or clicking that icon is a very, very powerful thing. Do not believe that your vote doesn't matter. It matters. It so matters.

Caribbean bloggers - most of them anyway - cannot pull that lever, or press that button or click that icon. But they can make their voices heard. Antilles, the weblog of the Caribbean Review of Books, sums it up this way:

Finally: it seems every newspaper and magazine in the world has endorsed one candidate or another…with Obama the overwhelmingly popular choice. Your Antilles blogger, like most of the world's population, can't vote, but feels he has a lot at stake in tomorrow's events. If the CRB were to endorse a candidate, who would it be? The smart, eloquent, cool, confident one who looks like he could be from the Caribbean, of course–that one.

Almost as soon as Barack Obama uttered those words in his nomination speech, mainstream media sources simultaneously declared Obama the victor in securing the Democratic Party's nomination. Caribbean bloggers were online with reactions to the history-making news that a black man actually has a chance of winning the race to the White House.

Spirits have generally been high, even though, as Trinidadian blogger Further Thoughts says:

Sure, I can’t vote, but I’m happy to call Obama my nominee. Wonderful news!

Barbadian bloggers are also celebrating. Bajan Global Report admits he has been “falling all over (him)self ever since Senator Obama won the presidential nomination for the the Democratic party last night”, while Barbados Underground is gracious towards Hillary Clinton in her defeat:

Although his opponent Senator Hillary Clinton has not followed the script and cleared the stage for the first African American presidential nominee to take the spotlight, we understand her disappointment.

Meanwhile, Cheese-on-bread! adds:

It will be interesting to see if he chooses Hillary Clinton as his running mate…

But Puerto Rican blogger Liza has no empathy for Hillary, calling her less-than-presidential “non-concession” speech “a lost moment”:

Last night was a truly historic moment and Hillary Clinton made history for all the wrong reasons. Instead of conceding to Barack Obama, instead of declaring him the rightful winner and instead of turning her followers' attention to him as the legitimate nominee, she chose to turn the moment into a show of force against Obama.

Hillary Clinton became lost in her ego and completely oblivious to the powerful, history turning moment that lay right in front of her for the taking. She robbed herself of the opportunity of being the hero, of becoming magnanimous by rising above the petty fray and looking forward to making the once unthinkable happen.

Instead, she is not only continuing the psychological warfare she unleashed on the Obamas for the past 4 months. She is aiding and abetting the Republicans with anti-Obama talking points.

Hillary Clinton wants to fulfill her prediction that Obama will lose in November by making sure she keeps the rancor among her supporters.

Blogging from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Abeni admits “I wasn't backing any of the contestants but I did enjoy watching history being made” - and goes on to say:

Having gotten this far, I hope the similarity continues and he wins in November. I certainly hope there is no grassy knoll in his future…

While Cuban blogger Babalu agrees that the nomination is historic, he is disappointed in the Democrats' choice:

His policies…are failed ones from the past; from the days of his Democratic icon, Jimmy Carter. All the Dems are in a hoo haa talking about “change” and about how great Obama can give a speech. Heck, Fidel Castro could give a good speech and he certainly brought change to a nation. So now it's time if the man can play with the big boys. He should be treated no different than anyone else. It's time to look beyond the color of the man and to look at his policies, his inexperience, and his judgment and character.

Guest blogger Dan Tanner, over at Dominica Weekly, says he doubted Obama's ability to secure the Democratic presidential nomination because he believed that the US was “too racist”:

I am relieved to learn that I was wrong. Every now and then someone, usually a Democrat, must come along and save capitalism…We can be certain that if elected President, John McCain would continue the failed Bush/Cheney war and economic policies. I hope that Barack Obama will be elected President and that he can somehow, probably with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, undo the damage that the Bush administration has done to the US, its economy, its military, its position in world opinion and to its Constitution.

And in a very well thought-out post, Bahamian Nicolette Bethel examines what Obama's nomination could mean for the Caribbean region:

The Obama/Hilary competition is more important to my mind for its symbolic value than for anything that it means to me as a Bahamian. I don’t think for one moment that a Barack Obama presidency is going to mean to us what it will mean to Americans. In fact, Obama’s worldview is quite likely to do us in The Bahamas less good than we might think — he’s accepted the realities of the 21st century global economy, and we still have no idea what those are. Strangely enough, if Obama becomes President, our best route to the Americans will be through the much-despised Caribbean.

But that’s by the way.

The race for the Democratic nomination is symbolic because from the beginning it ensured that the next Democratic contender for the American presidency will not be a white man.

Tonight is symbolic because the black man won.

In America.

Let us all take off our hats and stand in awe.

What also fascinates her about the battle to win to Democratic nomination is the fact that “the election was a truly democratic one”, in which citizen media had a role to play:

Forget the spin and the punditry and the experts; nobody has a real clue which way this election is going to go, because nobody has figured out how to translate the discussions that are going on in cyberspace — and that have driven Obama to his victory — into votes. The people, for the first time in what seems forever, are driving the candidates and the spinners and not the other way round.

…which brings her right back to the politics that actually do affect her as a Caribbean citizen:

What saddens me, though, is that we Bahamians have yet to invest our hearts and minds and interests in our own political campaigns and drive those people who imagine they have the right to lead us.

One thing is certain though - the Caribbean may not have a vote in the US presidential election, but it certainly has a voice - and bloggers will continue to closely monitor the political developments that will have an impact (however small) on their everyday lives. There may even be a few lessons to be learned. In the words of Barbados Underground:

It has been a long and exciting campaign and the world watches to see how one of the world’s powerful countries continue to manage a key element in its democracy i.e. the election of a leader.