Obama's the President Elect of the USA

Just a very quick post for the moment. Am very sleepy because I stayed up half the night to watch the US Presidential Election results. I stayed over in Edinburgh and watched with some friends including Esther who is from Ohio. We managed till 2.30am and couldn't stay awake any longer. We were fairly confident by then but I can't tell you how fantastic it felt to wake up to the news that the USA had elected Barack Obama as their 44th president. The BBC questioned whether or not the world's expectations of Obama were too great. Well, of course they are. But if he does nothing else he achieved two great things yesterday.

He has changed the course of history for the better for African Americans - traditionally African Americans don't have top executive jobs and now he's gotten THE top job in the world. That HAS to have a knock on effect. And he's dramatically changed the world's perception of the United States. I am a good example of someone who is exceptionally cynical of the USA but last night, that country gave me hope that all is not lost. The time for deeper analysis is later, the days when we realise Obama is not a saint will arrive in the not too distant future but this is a GOOD result, and those of us feeling slightly emotional about it should be allowed our dewy eyed moments.