It will be President Obama.
What do YOU think?
Full BBC election coverage here.
Shaun Ley writes for us here.
Read Martha Kearney's diary from the US here.
Other news coverage: New York Times. Fox News. Anchorage Daily News. The Australian. Chinese television. Le Monde. South Africa Mail and Guardian. The Winnipeg Free Press. And of course, Variety.
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I am a ex-pat who lives in Castro in San Francisco it is a crazy night. There are four Helicopters overhead covering the parties that are going on. It reminds me of past Castro Halloween parties.
I have been amazed at the sheer energy of this election day. On my ride home all I could hear on the train was people asking each other if they voted. Even at work people had their "I voted" stickers on.
Everyone in San Francisco has their fingers crossed that Prop 8, the California ban on same sex marriage will fail. Currently it is not looking so good.
BTW I am a married straight man with two kids. I feel no one should use the law to take someones freedoms away. If I can get married so should everyone.
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So Obama rather than McCain. Will we in the UK notice any difference?
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It is historic. In the course of my lifetime there has been the emergence of the civil rights movement, desegregation and all that has followed; yet I doubted that America was ready for a black President.
I was impressed with McCain’s generous and gracious speech accepting defeat. As before in his campaign he has gone out of his way to promote decency in the treatment of his opponent and demonstrates that he, and many of his generation, has adapted to the idea of a truly pluralistic America; I wouldn’t mind seeing Obama and McCain work together in some capacity.
Obama exudes confidence and certainly can articulate a national mood. In many ways that is the most important thing that popular American leaders such as Kennedy and Reagan provided, emotional buoyancy and optimism. I doubt Obama can fulfil a fraction of the the great expectations he has raised, but he seems able to promote a hope for better and feeling that it is possible following the recent years of bad news, uncertainty and pessimism.
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SSC (2): Good question. Will Barack really change America or will we have to endure more of the same - the problem with politicians of all colours is that they tend to be very good at hiding their true feelings during campaigns if they think not doing so will lose potential votes...
As I write, Barack has gained 338 electoral college seats (compared to John's 159), way beyond the 270 needed to secure the election, and has also increased his majority in Congress, although not quite to the 60% level needed to achieve a "super majority" and shoehorn any new legislation past Republican opposition.
Of course, due to the odd way the US electoral system works, presidencies run from midday on January 20th following the election - so Dubbya is still in charge for another 76 days. While officially a lame duck, "lame duck executives, particularly Presidents of the United States, are notorious for issuing a series of executive orders or making appointments during their last days that they would not otherwise have made if it would have influenced the vote against them."
Aside: Wikipedia (where I sourced the above quote) is a mine of information! Apparently the currently Presidential salary is $400,000 + benefits. The District of Columbia / Washington DC was set up in 1790 so the capital could be separate from all the other states and so not influenced by any one in particular - the DC covers an area of 68 sq miles and has about 588,000 residents, however the metropolitan area extends into the neighbouring states and has ~5 million residents.
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SSC: Oh, I sincerely hope so.
But, as mittfh has pointed out, not till late January - over two months away.
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The closest description I can give of my feelings on election night is that it was like watching JFK set the first step on the moon - a young(ish) charismatic leader doing something incredibly historic.
Having said that, I found myself surprisingly in agreement with Rupert Murdoch for once when he spoke of his fears for Obama's protectionist policies.
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ardrievdl (6):
But not very like that as Obama doesn't seem terribly keen to fund science, so we can expect US science to fall further and further behind and certainly no Big Science projects. Look out for the Moon/Mars missions to be cancelled in 2009 along with participation in the multinational fusion research project and withdrawal from the International Space Station by 2010.
Sadly, had the election gone the other way, I could probably have typed exactly that same paragraph, just changing the name.
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Davidbrummy (1): Thanks for your post. My best friend lives in Morgan Hill - I'll be in touch with her today by email (when she gets to work), but I've been thinking of her constantly through the last 24 hours. Like you, she's an ex pat. Through your eyes I can see what she will be experiencing. Thank you!
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mittfh: I was surprised to learn from Shaun Ley's blogs that "DC stands for District of Columbia, and because Washington it's not a State, the people who live here have limited political rights. Until about 40 years ago, they couldn't even vote for the President. Now they can, and they have a delegate in Congress, but she isn't allowed to vote."
As Shaun says, "The citizens of DC pay their taxes; so whatever happened to 'no taxation without representation'?"
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As a genealogist I am forced to ask:
If, on the basis of his genetic background, as apposed to the trivial irrelevance of his physical appearance, Mr Obama is classed as a "Black" American, would he, in his father's country, be considered a "White" Kenyan? If so, or even if not, this shows that there is still something very twisted in the World's view of what constitutes a man and maybe everyone should now pause for breath and consider this before blowing off about the wonderous US Land of Freedom and Opportunity for all and get back to the simple
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal"
Maybe the UN should consider adding to the value of this statement by actually suggesting that the words black, white, coffee, copper, yellow, etc be banned as human labels, rather than allowing them to be worn by some as a badge of honour and by others as a mark of shame.
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Sid, There's also the case of Puertoe Rico, which is governed by the US, but has no senators, and only a non-voting representative in the House...
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Beyond "change" and "Yes we can" can anyone tell me what Obama's actual policies are?
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ONCE MORE UNTO A BREACH DEAR FRIENDS?
A pretentious Western country has just gained a charismatic, lawyer-mind (with a wife-in-law) as its leader - does that sound familiar? As his all-embracing oratory of victory, rose and fell, did he feel the hand of history (until recently passing the collection plate of iniquity) on his shoulder? Does a country that has lost its way (as 80% attest) and lost its soul, even as this Christian icon rose to the occasion, really gain from a lawyer's take on life? Would they not be better served by a philosopher imbued with judicious humility, rather than a lawyer, trained to win favourable judgement right or wrong?
In Britain we bear the scars on our backs of Charismatic Orator Winner Blair’s years of ‘leadership’. Would anyone wish THAT on America and the world? As Obama urged the masses at his feet to 'put their hands on the arc of history and bend it' I felt the dark weight of Blair on MY shoulder.
If Obama can resist the intoxication of his own (illusory - engineered at phenomenal expense) greatness (as Blair utterly failed to do) the world might get lucky. Sadly, I heard nothing in the boom of Obama to allay my fears that faith and trust will be breached.
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Sid (9): I'm surprised you're surprised ;o), though I suppose I'm a bit of a geek about things American, having been fascinated by the nation from childhood.
On the positive side, and before you lose sleep about it, the population of Washington DC is relatively small (around half a million). I'm not sure of the demographics now, but when I visited there last, many of the residents were poor blacks, and there was a lot of crime away from middle class areas like Georgetown.
I would imagine that it will be on Mr. Obama's 'To do' list to sort out this particular anomaly, though it may involve a constitutional change.
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Fearless: But what is the tax situation for Puerto Rico? I think it may be different. The case with Washington DC revolves very much around the 'taxation without representation' one ....
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The success of Barack Obama as President elect marks a watershed of hope for the dawn of a new era around the world and this really is a momentous time for the future world order.
Following the divisive Bush/Blair years, Obama has a mountain to climb, but he clearly has the makings of a true statesman, which is sorely lacking in our current generation of Politicians in every continent.
Tremendous damage has been done around the world due to the Bush/Blair crusades of division and while Obama has a lot of friends from all countries who wish him well at this historic time for humanity he also needs to make sure that not only the USA but other countries adopt an ethical policy to our global society.
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Wee-Scamp (12) - If you have not been interested enough to find out over the past 18 months, then I doubt your interest now.
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Now even the BBC persist in calling Obama 'black'. He is mixed race - he is half white.
I find myself very uncomfortable watching blacks in America treating Obama's success as victory in some sort of race war. Plenty of whites voted for him - perhaps partly because he is half white.
Please. BBC, be more accurate.
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SSC and mittfh, I can't quite explain it, but during the last few minutes of the morning's news-magazine-fest, Obama's victory was described as 'like Gorbachov and Pope Jonh Paul II rolled into one' (or some such phrase) and I felt a little chill finger on my spine -- and I remembered all the people I knew who held parties to celebrate Tony Blair's election as though he were the Messiah come to save us all.
I think I'll wait to judge this presidency until about February 2012, really. I'm very glad that America has felt able to elect what has been declared to be a black man, even if his blackness is going to be an 'is-he isn't-he' debate from now until doomsday, but I'm not going to assume that being black (any more than being female or being palsied) necessarily means 'better' than anyone else. Except maybe than G.W.Bush, of course... :-)
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For those who didn't hear, I understand Barry won.
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erm...did anyone check the ticker tape at the bottom of the video stream?
I think the moderator might have something to say about it.
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ST 3, People like to ignore the fact that Obama is half white because he looks black. They also don't like to mention that his black father deserted the family for his white mother and grandmother to bring up. I voted for Ralph Nader.
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Sid 9, Are you really saying that you didn't know DC stands for District of Columbia?
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Oops! Sorry Sazmond, you are right. We checked the tape content but not the ticker. We've removed it.
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dT 18, Careful, we aren't allowed to talk like that on a BBC blog. (see my 22)
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Now that the US election is over (it was actually over once Palin opened her mouth), can we get back to something more important, like Ross and Brand?
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DMcN (23) - I think Sid was saying that he was surprised to hear Shaun Ley's blog say: "DC stands for District of Columbia, and because Washington it's not a State, the people who live here have limited political rights. Until about 40 years ago, they couldn't even vote for the President. Now they can,
I guess that is why he used the quotation marks.
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QL 27, I sit corrected.
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As George W Bush will be leaving the White House in January as America’s most unpopular President, should President Obama’s first act – on behalf of the American people – be to apologise to the world for foisting him on us in the first place?
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Who’d have thought that on September 12th 2001, the next American President would be named Barak Hussein Obama, and that his Vice President would be named Joe Bi(n La)den?
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D McN (23) - as QL elucidates so eloquently, yes I did know that that DC etc etc, - I didn't know the inhabitants were disenfranchised.
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SSC (2)
In order to believe that we will not notice the difference, you'd have to believe that Bush has made no difference for the last eight years. Iraq, Halliburton, Guantanamo Bay, ignorance of climate change ... you think all that would have happened with a Democrat as president? I've certainly noticed those things, and plenty more besides.
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Sid (32):
Yes, I'm being cynical, maybe because there's barely enough space between *our* two main parties to shove a "I voted" sticker, maybe because the US political spectrum seems Doppler-shifted way off to the side of ours.
I can also see him getting to the White House next year full of grand ideas and being told, "Sorry, Mr President we're committed to this, we can't change that and we can't do the other because of National Security. ... Would you like to choose a new rug for the Oval Office?"
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A great result.
Clearly, this President (elect) has the most daunting and monumental tasks ahead of him.
And, soon, to all intents and purposes a financially and to some extent morally bankrupt country to lead...
But this President has support and good-will. Fingers-crossed!
Changes? Of course. I'd guess seemingly subtle at first, but I think we'll find, with Global reach and, in favour of the US. Remember Fortress America..?
Also, this man has to survive. Black Americans have (understandably) high-expectations. He may never appeal to the extreme right-wingers. He has to perform...
Oh, and I believe President elect Obama's "salary" is less than our very own Mr Ross. Well, that seems fair...
Anyway, I wish him luck and good-fortune as I do this fellow:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/05/geoff-moule-pearly-oyster-dorset
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'Change'? Yeah whatever. Wonder what the next facile buzzword will be.
It was just like giving candy to a baby in the most infantilised electorate on record.
Trouble is the candy's coming from the Melamine Messiah (Teflon Tony's protege) and the baby is an obese diabetic.
You won't get much 'change' from an economy that needs a trillion dollar bail-out except common ownership of the means of wealth creation ie communism, which is exactly what Brown is aiming for.
Next thing to happen will be Brown and the Melamine Messiah writing off their governments' debts just like the Bolsheviks did in 1919.
McCain lost to the black racists.
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Snafu_land (35) - "McCain lost to the black racists."
Well doesn't that make a pleasant change?
Some indication of voting trends given here based on exit polls.
Nothing too startling but interesting nevertheless.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
A 'good news' day at last.*
Congratulations to both President-elect Obama and America.
For so long people have criticised the United States for so many reasons that I have lost count. These criticisms have in many cases not been without good reason, but often people have just enjoyed doing it more than anything and I believe this is cynicism taken too far.
This election has shown that America is, at its core, a place of decency and most of all, hope. The country has shown itself capable of renewing itself and able to atone for its mistakes. These qualities are worthy of our admiration and so are the ideas that lie at the foundation of the American idea. These values have shown that they can bring real results and have done so today.
Best wishes,
Otter
*I have deliberately written this before I hear Nils' "numbers" :).
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I've just been into a supermarket in a small Home Counties market town. The Afro-Caribbean lady on the check-out told me she was buying all today's papers to put away and keep for her grandchildren. The smile on her face said it all. A historic day.
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Otter - Only a few months ago, I'm certain I would have disagreed with you. Now I'm inclined to think, or at least hope, that there is a lot of truth in what you say. In any event, I'm certain that the change in administration and party can only be for the better.
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Can any one point me to a reference that describes that historic and momentous day when Benjamin Disraeli became the first Jewish Prime Minister?
How did people fee?
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My daughter who lives in Los Angeles rang me at 3 am this morning and shouted down the phone "Dad. Obama won. It's gone absolutely crazy here. It's just like New Year"
It was a somwhat rude awakening. Personally I find politians who are great talkers rarely deliver the expectations the raise. Look at Tony Blair, I voted for him and he turned out to be the biggest liar in British political history.
I have a feeling that Obama will turn out the same. I desperately hope he will deliver.
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Llawgyfes (41) - I can point you to plenty of references which confirm that Disraeli was a baptised Christian ...
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It was wonderful to watch Barack Obama win the election last night. I was happy to stay up to see his vote overtip the 270 mark, to see McCain's very gracious concession, and Obama's inspirational first speech as President Elect.
As a white UK citizen and with a political leaning towards Cameron's conservatives, I am overjoyed to see Obama win.
I was pleased to see Tony Blair win in the same way, back in 1997. There are times when you need the left to be in power, as there are sacred cows that the right cant touch.
Barack Obama seems a very similar figure to Tony Blair, in that he has that messianic appeal, convincing enough people that he is a unifier, that he will bring change to sweep into power. His "yes we can" mantra of empowerment spoke to me deep inside as if he were the reincarnation of Martin Luther King. As soon as I saw him speak over a year ago, I had no doubt that he would be the next President, well before he won the nomination. He was so clearly a charismatic figure that any opponent would find almost impossible to beat.
Will I agree with everything he does? Probably not. Do I think that America and the world needed to see him elected right now? Definitely.
I will be fascinated to see how he creates his administration, and to see what he does with the opportunity that is now presented to him.
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US UR US!!
The end to killers as Presidents, once and for all.
PS As a Hebridean Scot I am mixed race.
Let's hope he gives Congealed Rice a job and a new brief.
She always WAS the right person for the job, working for the wrong ideology.
This is the salvation of Africa, y'know
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A HISTORIC DAY!!!!
And one that will rewrite all history books. Nov 5th 2008. It almost is beyond belief that within 5 decades of the Civil Rights Act (1964), Barrack Obama has gained the Office of President!!
NOTHING will be the same ever again!!!!
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nn 46, Getting a bit carried away, aren't you? He hasn't even been sworn in yet.
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Will the BBC seek its usual balance by speculating as to when we'll see a "White" president elected in Africa?
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Sid 43, His father had him baptised at the age of 13 after a dispute with the synagogue.
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At least Obama won't be able to fill his cabinet with people from the House of Lords.
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D McN (49) - Yes, and ... ?
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Sid 51, And he was born a Jew.
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David McN -47
I am in such a good frame of mind, you can say whatever you like!!!!
n-n
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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nn 53, And I will.
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And now let's see what Obama does about Iraq and Afghanistan. GET THE TROOPS OUT!!
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D McN - the original query was about him being the first Jewish Prime Minister. He wasn't a Jewish Prime Minister.
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VH 48, Well, we did have Ian Smith in Rhodesia.
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We must not forget to thank President Bush for paving the way to the election of Senator Obama. Without Mr Bush's record, who would want a change? Thank you Mr President.
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Sid 56, Once a Jew, always a Jew. His religion might have changed, but not his background.
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D McN 59,
At the risk of appearing pedantic, the question is not whether he was a Jew, but whether he was Jewish. If he was a Christian Prime Minister, he can not have been a Jewish Prime Minister.
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He was a Jewish Christian Prime Minister. Like Obams is an Afro American Caucasian President. Like I am a Scots Irish Christian non-Prime Minister/President.
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Must talk to my keyboard about having the a and s so close together.
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Nikki Noodle - nice to see someone else is as optimistic as me!!
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Vyle (48) There have been a number of white presidents of South Africa, e.g. during the aparthied era. David (57) Mr. Smith was only a prime minister. As with the current Prime Minister of this country, the procedure to become PM is different from the procedure to become Pres.
H.
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FLASH, I just heard someone on PM refer to Obama as being PART African American. The BBC is losing it.
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Humph 64, Pedant.
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I get the feeling that BBC newspresenters aren't allowed to refer to Obama as anything other than black.
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Republicans, bad for the economy and bad for the USA
To number 13 whilst I am sure Obama won't be perfect just remember what the Bush administrations achieved. The Republicans took a $230bn trade surplus when they took power to a $2-3 trillion defecit as they leave. When some awful terrorists mainly from Saudi Arabia did their dreadful deed in 2003 Bush invaded Iraq. Explain that one. Iraq was a country specialising in oppressing its own people but other than engaging in a war against Iran and killing more Muslims than any other country that century it did not export terrorism. Ask any of the intelligence services. Bush turned Iraq into a terrorist factory. There was never any evidence for WMD and if he had just wanted to invade for his own clan's personal gain he could have at least taken the advice of his senior advisors so that military security in the country could have been maintained after the invasion. Bush was a nightmare at almost every level and never has the USA had less respect internationally.
Obama can't ever be that bad because he is intelligent, eloquent and wants to listen to others (which is a strength not a weakness). Embrace the change and then criticise positively.
Hopefully Brown will be kicked out soon and then god help Cameron with the mess that Labour has left as he too will need all the help he can get
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DMcN (50) - "At least Obama won't be able to fill his cabinet with people from the House of Lords."
A bit of a nonsensical comment, don't you think? The US President has as much freedom as the British Prime Minister in appointments to his cabinet.
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It looks like Prop 8 the California ban on same sex marriage is going to pass.
Guess the US still has a lot of hurdles to overcome.
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Just had an email back from my Stateside pal. She says:
"Finally, Bush is gone along
with all his crooked cronies. However, times are very, very tough here
and we have not even seen the start of the higher unemployment which is
sure to happen with all the banks merging, shops closing and the
continuing housing crisis. All from greed and non-regulation and
keeping their eyes shut by our thankfully last and gone government."
That's the view from California.
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BS 14, And the population of Alaska is about 700,000 (47th), while it is the largest state.
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Nikki (46):
But is it "A HISTORIC DAY!!!!" or "AN HISTORIC DAY!!!!"?
C'mon Froggers, never mind the inconsequential stuff about major turnarounds in US policy or the religion of Victorian politicians*, what about obscure pedantry about Norman influences on English grammar?
* David, I suspect that the last Jewish Christian might actually have been Joshua ben Joseph himself...
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David (72): Fair point, and I wasn't trying to defend the DC position - far from it. Given the demographics, I would imagine that there is now a very strong push to change things there.
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SSC 73, And some say that he was killed by the Jews. Interesting word 'kliied'. That's what I first typed.
Norman Wisdom had no influence on my grandmother.
So far, it has been AN HYSTERICAL DAY!!!!!!
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QL 69, You know that and I know that, but when you purposely appoint someone to the House of Lords (Mandy) to get them in your cabinet....
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A historical.
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45
Race is an inconsistent contradictory illuusory notion, with no meaning and no reference (it is a chimera, it describes nothing at all in the realworld)
PS A Bristol guide book used to say that the (old) Council Chamber had two life size stautues, of a lion and a unicorn, outside.
The idea we've heard this sort of hope before with Tony Blair - then look what happened:-
But TB was trying to be a socialist carrying out a Tory mandate 'cos everyone thought markets and Margaret Thatcher wonderful.
Obama does NOT have to try to be like George Bush!!!!!
He got elected in large part because markets fail the people they are supposed to serve.
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There seem to me to be two obvious dangers.
As a whole America is richer than her own endevours would justify (she is a net exploiter)
So American slavery can be fully compensated for within America.
But it is here in Europe that France, Spain, Portugal (have I forgotten anywhere? oh, yes, ) the Scots Irish Christians and .......the English benefited from slavery elsewhere in the Caribbean basin and South America.
Could it be that we are so very pleased that Obama got elected because he ISN'T a descendent of a slave?
It's as if we are thinking 'We're not racist, so we owe nothing'
WRONG
The other danger is that Obama may unite America at the expense of countries and nations like China and India. ('He is black, so he could never think contemptuously of other nations. America MUST be playing a clean game 'cos Obama is President')
But the main dangers are in Bush's last 100 days
1. as he tries to lock Obama into unacceptable foreign policies
2. as he bankrupts American government with his freebie or give-away to (bail out of) the US banks and finance houses
3. and as he encourages the slump which hurts Obama and which hurts India, China nad oil Islam as it was intended to do.
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David (66) Truth
H.
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If Obama says he's black, he's black, end of discussion. If anyone wants to obsess about precise gradations of race, think about what sort of people and societies have done so in the past - the Nazis, Apratheid-era South Africans, segregated America etc. Your obsession with Obama's race tells us more about you than it does about him.
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A pleasent type of mass hysteria. I'd believe it if I saw such misty adoring crowds pre vote saying similar things. I see the historical angle and am delighted. But for me his ability to perform is more impt than his skin or pre election poetry. Here comes Russia with a nicely timed provocaton and a mother of a financial crisis. Mccain scared me, B.O is a mystery.
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In our time, in our time. 'The dream of our founders is alive, in our time'. What they vaguely imagined (they were slave-owners, by and large), is now fully alive. In our time.
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Let's hope he's more focussed than he is in that photo
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riffler (81) - spot on. The US has been built on white/non-white, not white, black and all shades in between.
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I like him for the 'not a black President, a President who happens to be black' outlook, but I feel that what I am seeing here is the first *non-white* president, by choice, because it cuts the ground out from under all the 'exactly what shade of black?' faldelal.
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