Wow. Barack Obama actually won. Fantastic!
I can only imagine the energy and elation that must be reverberating around certain quarters of the USA right now. I know that most of my friends and colleagues who live there are feeling good about politics for the first time in years. There seems to be pretty much universal acknowledgement that this is an historic occasion, even amongst those who are disappointed by the result.
Of course, now the real work begins. There’s a lot of brokenness that needs to be fixed, and I think Obama is the best choice from what was available. He’s not going to be perfect, but I think in 4 years time, things will have been improved. I shudder to think of what the other side might have done, based on what’s happened in the past 8 years.
The politicians over here are likely to follow you guys’ lead, which is why I’m particularly interested in what happens over there. That, and I work in IT, which is a very US-centric, and US-led market. I’m already feeling the effects of the financial downturn rippling all the way over to .au. I’m hoping that things will now stabilise and the fear will die down.
I’m also hoping the foreigner unfriendly policies of the previous administration get rolled back so I feel like visiting. For a few years now I’ve been avoiding getting fingerprinted, photographed, scanned, prodded, recorded, having my laptop stolen and generally being made to feel like a criminal for daring to want to visit what is a lovely country. I liked the bits I saw 15 years ago, but I’d like to venture further afield than NY and LA .
But right now, I think I’ll just bask in the glow of happiness and hope that’s emanating from the US.