A Vote for Change from Around the World

Somerville, Mass - Today I am receiving congratulatory messages from friends in all corners of the globe, including Costa Rica, Russia and Dubai. The world is celebrating this election right along with us.

Since I spent the first half of this year on the road, I had a different perspective on the presidential election - the foreign perspective. It was striking to me that everywhere I went - Belize, Italy and Russia - people were excited about the possibility of President Obama. During the course of the campaign he has advocated for diplomacy instead of coercion, and the world appreciates this new approach.

Foreign Policy printed a roundup of some excerpts from the foreign press:

From Germany: "Obama is America's offer of reconciliation after all those years of premeditated political provocation, of military action not backed by international law, of America's claim to be entitled to military pre-emptive strikes." - Spiegel Online

From the UK: "Yesterday’s results were head-spinning stuff… The country regarded loftily by many Europeans as hopelessly racist and irredeemably right wing has voted to be ruled by a black man, at the head of a party committed to economic redistribution and a foreign policy rooted in peaceful diplomatic engagement."  - Times of London

From France: "The World Waits For Obama's 'Change': The victory of Barack Obama arouses hope and attention in the four corners of the globe, even in countries usually hostile to Washington." - Le Figaro

From Israel: "Former Congressman Mikva said that 'Barack will be the first Jewish president in the US... He has a yiddeshe nishama,' [a 'Jewish soul'] Mikva said. 'He is committed to Israel and its security concerns and understands that democratization does not happen by force but by example.' " - The Jerusalem Post 

From Kenya: "President Kibaki: 'This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success.'" - The Daily Nation  

I love these last two... It's no surprise that Kenya would claim Obama as one of their own. But to hear this from an Israeli is unexpected, considering that the presidential candidate was lambasted by the "pro-Israel" contingent in the US.

From Ireland: Nothing can beat the claim by Irish folk singers: "O'Leary, O'Rily, O'Hara, O'Harra, There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama."

You know this went over well in Boston... Vote Irish! Vote O'Bama!