I've just watched the Obama victory speech and even I shed a few
tears of joy :)

This is truly a historic moment. There is now hope for America,
where there was no hope. Americans needed a great deal of pain
to realise the foolishness of Bush/Cheney and the destruction
of their country.

Conservate old farts beware, change is coming!

Yippeeee

Oh yair.

I'll believe it when I see some positive changes in the right direction... and I don't mean green-veneer stuff.

I hope you're right Yabby, but quite frankly I don't hold much hope that significant change will come. I think we'll all be highly disillusioned before too long ( :>(

Dear Yabby,

I too watched the American election
results, and listened to Barack Obama's
history-making, eloquent speech.
I shed more than a few tears. I actually
bawled my eyes out. What a special man!

Americans badly needed someone who would
unite them, and the landslide victory
proved that Barack Obama is the man they
want to do just that.

Change is now inevitable.

History is being re-written.

Bravo America.

We're proud of you!

a change of faces is no real change. i'm waiting to hear:

"america will no longer dispatch drone bombs to kill people we think may wish us harm, as too many innocents die".

there may be a long wait.

i'm waiting to hear "90% of munitions expenditure will be diverted to america's schools, hospitals, transport and green energy production".

there may be a long wait.

i'm waiting to hear " america will subscribe to the international criminal court".

there may be a long wait.

yes we can? seen no evidence that they want to.

'Conservate old farts beware, change is coming!'

Just like with Mr Rudd who has continued on with Mr Howard's policies (except for a few symbolic gestures)

Dear Demos,

You do know that the man has only
just won the election, and won't be
inaugurated into the office of
President until mid January 2009, don't
you?

Give him time to at least get his foot
in the door of the oval office before
criticizing.

Change will come.

The real power behind Washington is the cartell of banks called the Federal Reserve.I don't think that it matters which party is in power.

There is a plan to unite the economies of Mexico,USA and Canada under one currency called the Amero.If Obama has his country's well being at heart,he will scuttle this plan and issue a new currency in the name of the US Govt.Currently their currency is owned by the private cartell of banks called the Fed Res.This is against the American constitution.

Obama has the power to free the US people from the debt trap and that will truely make him a great president.

all the american assasinations were people who dared to stand up to the banking cartells

the civil war was about tax without representation
and the right not to use british bankers money [not to have to lend their money from briton] the RIGHT to issue their own currency

ceasor got killed for issueing his own currency[ie not lending it from the banking marfia [who stole all our gold and silver as well as actually lend govt its own money
[with intrest at the rates set by the banking cartel called the fed reserve[as much federally owned as fed express [ie not at al]

obama cannot do the one change usa really needs [the right to issue its own funds ,that get repayed by tax on income [not wages]but the fools who get wages still think wrongly wage is income [its not]

but obama knows this [he also knows he wont be able to change nothing#
just like rudd cant

yes we could
but we cant be bothered
so we wont

yes we can is spin

yes we can get change we believe in [but we wont because we got no real belief in the way things really are ]

[just like jfk got killed for pres order 11.110 [signed into law the right to issue usa 's own currency [3 days before he got shot]

have we been sold out
yes we have

Today, I saw hope not fear
bringing the American people together.

I saw a man elected as President
who was judged not by the colour
of his skin but by the content
of his character.

A man who promised, "Yes We Can!"

To some that may be spin, but I
believed it, and so did the people
whose faces I observed on television,
in the vast crowds listening to
the President-Elect, Barack Obama,
in Chicago.

Sure, it's not going to be easy.
The man acknowledged that.
Sure, mistakes will be made.
Look at the mess he's inherited
from the previous administration.

But, "Yes We Can!" is a positive step
in the right direction. Americans
need hope, and something to believe in,
to get out of the mess they're in.

This is only the beginning.

"Better to light a candle
Than to curse the darkness."
(Old Chinese Proverb).

Well said Foxy!

Karl Rove swung the elections for Bush and Cheney, by using fear.
We landed up with a pair of bush pigs, as predicted.

Obama has offered Americans the option of change and hope.
Nothing in his campaign or background has suggested that he
does not mean it, nor that he does not have the intellect to
make a difference. I don't admire his job, for America is
a mess.

So I give him credit for his amazing achievement. Beating the
Clintons, beating the American conservative establishment,
as a non white and without turning to religion to win votes,
is an amazing achievement in the US. Congratulations Obama!

The cynics are of course jumping to all sorts of conspiracy
theories, which tells us a bit about their own characters and
frame of mine.

Its time to give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt, until
he proves otherwise.

Congratulations Barack, on an amazing speech, which in my
opinion, came from your own true beliefs.

There certainly is hope for the world, for the thought of
the moose hunter with her finger on the nuclear button,
was certainly a scary thought for me.

Great stuff

Yabby I admire your positivity.

It is true that Obama has won some momentous and highly improbable victories on his route to the White House.

I hope to goodness that he can translate his victory into very substantial changes in the right direction.

One thing I fear is that he will make changes that are lauded as great steps forward but which will really be far too small in our time of quite desperate need for massive change. Relatively small changes could effectively mean business as usual, but with the majority of those calling for change largely silenced or mitigated.

In fact I think that is the most likely scenario.

Yabby, Foxy, well said what a lot of wet floors mine too.
Conservative old farts indeed and those who just want to complain.
This day is a great one, America has said it is a better country than Bush tried to make it.
It will not be easy.
It may not be every thing we wish for but at least we cryed because we think he can.
And we are not blinded by hate for all things American
Go you good thing Obama.

In his victory speech Obama said:

"You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."

The wars, the environment and the economy are the right targets. The current administration in the US actually loosened environmental controls, got its knickers in a knot on same sex marriage and stem cell research and lied the US into Iraq.

Obama called it a stupid war while shrub was gearing up for it. I voted for Obama by absentee ballot even though I don't like his policy of continuing Bush's faith based initiatives.

I can remember when the US Congress could not even pass an anti-lynching bill because southern senators filibustered against it. Now we have a man with a dark skin elected president. WHOOPEE!

I see that exactly the same people, who fell for K Rudd's hot air, have fallen for the same rubbish from Obama.

I could be wrong, [I was once], but I'm pretty sure both of us, [Oz, & the US], have a couple of hot air balloons in the top jobs. It could be just bad reporting, by the fawning media, but I never heard him actually say anything, during the whole campaign. The whole thing shouted christian revival meeting hype to me.

I will watch with interest to see if this bloke's any more effective than ours.

Well Hasbeen, it seems you have your nose out of joint, and you don't believe in giving someone a fair go. Obama can't make changes over night,he isn't sworn in till mid January. Mr Rudd copped one hell of a mess when elected, so many areas have been neglected for at least 10 years or more.Try being realistic for a change and look at the whole picture instead of snippets.

Anng, I think that Hasbeen is being entirely realistic.

Has there been a leader in Oz or US or UK or anywhere else that has really made a difference of the sort that we need in the last decade or so?

Rudd looked very promising. Then one of the first things he did when he won office was to greatly boost immigration, which he had not touted at all in his election campaign, and which is just so totally at odds with his ‘commitment’ to climate change, amongst other things.

There really hasn’t been anything particularly inspiring said by Obama in the last few months which could give us a real feeling of optimism regarding large-scale change.

The natural position seems to me to be one of considerable pessimism about Obama’s leadership. But even us ardent pessimists wish him all the best and hope that he will achieve great things.

I think I fall somewhere between Yabby's positive contributions and Ludwig's more cynical stance.

As usual, the hyper-cynical types quickly descend into conspiracy theories and exaggerated negativity (not you Ludwig, I think you can see the comments I'm talking about).

As I see it, we're guaranteed some improvement - I don't mean to say that Obama's certain to succeed in most of these endeavours, far from it.

But allow me a metaphor, if you will. Imagine that the ideal situation is a town in the middle of nowhere. Bush was drunk and had his foot on the accelerator, zooming away from this town at high speed. He had already sped off the road and through a few fields, and pretty soon he was going to plow straight into the side of a barn.

At the very least, Obama will stop the car. Whether or not he can turn it around and get us back to that town remains to be seen, but at least he doesn't seem to have empty beer bottles littered all over the front seat.

I think this is enough of a reason to drop the cynicism and be optimistic. Obama doesn't have to be brilliant to do better than Bush, he's just got to stop doing such horrific damage.

I actually think he will do some good in the office - I don't think he's going to solve all the US's problems, but I do think he'll reduce them somewhat.

TRTL, I hope you are right, but I'm afraid I doubt it.

I expect Obama will do about as much for the US as Nelson Mandela has done for South Africa.

From what I see, not one AVERAGE person in SA is better off than before Mandela came along, & many are worse off, if only in having high hopes dashed to nothing. At least we knew what Mandela stood for.

I have no idea, after all the hoo-ha, just what Obama stands for. As I said, this may be from bad reporting, but all I ever heard was rhetoric. There may have been more substance in the US, but it never got to here, if there was.

As with Rudd, I think a very large percentage of people were voting for what they hoped Obama was, not what they knew he was. I can see none of what his supporters think they can see, through their rose coloured glasses. I truly hope I am the one who needs new glasses

Mr. Obama is a symbol of what America wants to be now
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/05/mann.ct.newface/index.html?iref=werecommend
.
"Your election raises in France, in Europe, and beyond throughout the world, immense hope." French President Nicholas Sarkozy
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/05/labott.foreign.policy/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

"Forty-five years ago Martin Luther King dreamt of an America where men and women will be judged not on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character. Today, what America has done is turn that dream into a reality."Kevin Rudd
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24606956-5013871,00.html

``Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place,'' Nelson Mandela
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Nelson_Mandela_says_Obamas_victory_a_sign_of_hope_for_everyone/articleshow/3677868.cms

Obama's victory sets off optimism in Latin America, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said it was a historical moment. "I know his (Obama's) concerns are social justice and equality of opportunities, which he has resumed under the slogans of change and hope. These are the same principles that inspire us in Chile."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/06/content_10316025.htm

Blacks rejoice at Obama victory,
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24610106-5005961,00.html

"Because what he did in this campaign was to be all-inclusive, to reach out across racial lines, cultural lines, religious lines, you name it. He wanted to be a transformational figure, to bridge the gap between generations. And I think that's what allowed him to win this election," Powel

"We have witnessed a nonviolent revolution, a revolution of ideas,"Civil Rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis

How Barack Obama defied history, Achieving the impossible,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710449.stm

Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

What a fantastic outcome.

Obama has a lot to contend with both domestically and internationally. If he can stick with his vision and ideals I think we can look forward to a better world characterised by respectful, outward looking, inclusive and positive global relationships.

Well done America - I didn't think you had it in you.

Yes this is fantastic news, Yabby and there is reason to believe that there are going to be positive changes.
I shed a few tears as well.

Go, Obama.
Gobama!

http://cagle.com/news/ObamaWins08/

An interesting contrast!

1) “Conservative old farts” [various OLO posters ]

“Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America.” [guess who?]

We All have our hopes and opinions of exactly what Barack Obama`s inaugeration will bring to the U.S. and to the rest of the world.

Any significant change will take time and we must remember that "Barry" will be battling against the long established ultra Right-wing luminaries, who have called the tune via "George the unbelievable"and the rest of the mob for so long!

Change however is achievable and if it turns out to be a non-event, then ultimately the world is doomed to an inevitable nuclear conflict!

As long as the U.S. endeavours to dominate the world there will be ongoing conflict. It has to accept that the fact that internal unrest and civil-war is the norm to achieve a "pecking order" in a large portion of the less developed nations of the world and consequently must learn to keep it`s nose out of other people`s affairs.

Another worrying factor that has been created throughout the history of the U.S. is the risk of assasination orchestrated by the hidden powers behind the "good ole boys", who themselves still believe in the principles of "White Supremacy" and will not allow a "black man" to reign supreme. This factor is unfortunately horrendous reality and nobody can dismiss the evils behind the murders of JFK, Martin Luther King and the many others who posed a threat to the continuance of the insanity of "W S" activists ( some of whom hold very powerful positions in global politics!)....the past history of the U.S. tells a very frightening story for race relations and it is now hoped that this pattern will end right here and now!

As we wait, I can only wish Barack, Michelle and family all the utmost luck and achievement in what is probably the greatest moment in the history of this planet

Cuphandle

I share your concerns regarding the trigger-happy members of the American far-right. Irony in mind, I am equally sure that Barack and his family will have the best security that is available, given the American expertise on high-tech defense.

This is change we had to have; someone who is clearly different to any American leader in recent times, someone who looks outward instead of the narrow perspective of the past 8 years.

Yes we can: the world can move into a more mutually supportive, communicative era.

And Sara Palin is nowhere near the nuke button!

Dear yabba,
I also shed a few tears and prayed Gods protection over Barak Obama
As he confesses all men are one under the banner of Jesus . only as we lift up our diferences do we devide into waring teratorial camps . Jesus made it very clear as Moses lifted up the snake on the pole in the desert so as he was also lifted up he would draw ALL men unto him. Only in him do we become true brothers, grafted into our Great God's family neither jew or gentile, Hebrew or muslem, hindu or budist, evolutinst are creationst. United we stand as children of the one true God. Divided we fall because we are all in the same boat and we can't stop the wourld and let some of us of.

I'm with Ludwig. I wont be holding my breath waiting for dramatic change.

Remember the EUPHORIA in IRAQ when the statues of saddam came down. Even I felt elation that a despot was gone and the people there would benefit. What has happened since? they forgot about democracy and are busy blowing each other up, trying to get their mob to be top dog.

Do not build false hopes. Foxy, 53% of the vote is hardly a landslide.

Yabba wrote: I also shed a few tears and prayed Gods protection over Barak Obama
As he confesses all men are one under the banner of Jesus.

Dear Yabba,

All men do not have to be under the banner of any particular superstition. Please cite your source for the statement you attribute to Obama. He is president-elect of a nation where Christianity is only one of many religions, and I doubt that he would be stupid enough to make the statement you attribute to him.

My previous post was wrong. It was Richie 10 who wrote: I also shed a few tears and prayed Gods protection over Barak Obama
As he confesses all men are one under the banner of Jesus.

Dear Richie 10,

All men do not have to be under the banner of any particular superstition. Please cite your source for the statement you attribute to Obama. He is president-elect of a nation where Christianity is only one of many religions, and I doubt that he would be stupid enough to make the statement you attribute to him.

Err David, that is not what I wrote. If you knew me even a little
bit, you'd know that I don't belong to the godsquad. Reread
who wrote what. Thanks

a little bit of history
In 1914-18 a war was fought with Germany. again in 1929 satin rose up his man Adolph Hitler to get rid of Gods chosen the jews. Adolph boasted that his kingdom would last 1000 years .It was finished in 1945.
In 1917 another of Queen Victoria's Grandsons was killed and another expansion dictatorship was born under the banner of socialism. today the U.S.S.R is no more and the Word of God is now spoken freely once more.
In the 90's it was widely Speculated on the Demise of U.S. of A. as a world power to be replaced by Japan . The Asian crysis soon put that theory to rest . I know that blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord . {Jesus is Lord for the glory of God the father} If the Head is rotten the whole body pays the price and for our childrens sake we need to pray for Barack Obama and USA and that Gods will be done on earth as it is in heaven as Jesus Taught and remember we are not parrots mumbling uninteligently for God is not "deff" and he never sleeps.MANY kingdoms come and go But Gods Kingdom is forever and for the sake of the people I truly hope and pray Barak Obama is Gods man for this hour.

It would be most interesting to know what Yab-bot, who worships property speculation and landlordism, despises renters, opposes legislative protection of workers' wages and conditions, supports endless expansion of Australia's climate-changing mineral export industry and limitless immigration, knows about Barack Obama of which the rest of us are unaware.

Nobody's negativity is going to spoil
this day for me...

Guess what? I received a reply from the
man himself to my email!

Wow!

I sent Barack Obama an email (from his official site)
right after his election win. His email was then still
available. I congratulated him from Australia, and expressed my
joy at his win.

I never expected a reply.

Today, I got it! And it was signed - Barack Obama, and not
by some aide. It was written in his eloquent style,
and I'm going to have it framed! (My mum's jealous).

Anyway, I'm over the moon ...

Oh what a feeling!

Foxy

That is wonderful - it'll probably be the last time Barack Obama will ever have the luxury of time to make a personal response.

I'm still luxuriating in the feeling of hope and change as well, reality will no doubt place limits on what can be achieved, however we know now that sometimes good people are placed in power; that the presidency of the USA is not just limited to the business elite.

Foxy, I am delighted for you!

Do bear in mind however, that it is possible that Barack wrote
one letter to his hundreds of thousands of fans and that one of
the staffers simply changes the name each time, in response.

That does not deter from the fact that what Obama is showing,
is his amazing ability to inspire and unite people in hope and
when people are inspired in hope, they go out and achieve.

Just look at those many smiling faces out there!

Quite a difference to the republican strategy of dividing
and conquering and using fear as a driver to achieve their goals.

I went to an election party where we drank ourselves stupid on champagne and cheered and danced and reveled.

Humanity should never get too cynical to appreciate perfectly realised symbolism when it slaps us in the face. I heard a beautiful vox pop from the streets of Somewheresville, USA on SBS yesterday: "Rosa sat so King could walk, and King walked so Obama could run."

Whatever happens, the election itself is already a victory for civil rights, for tolerance, for multiculturalism. Obama wasn't elected because he is black, he was elected because the US reached a point where the best man got the job, despite being black.

Jesus, even McCain sounded impressed that he now has an African American president.

Yabby,
The only historic feature of the president elect is that he is African-American. Don,t like that term either, prefer American of mixed heritage.

I have not preference for either Republican of Democrat, but did not see brilliant things from previous Democrat Presidents, or Republicans for that matter.

How Obana does the job only time will tell. But, of course, I wish him well.

Bit surprized that your comments are not more practical.

<<I have not preference for either Republican of Democrat, but did not see brilliant things from previous Democrat Presidents, or Republicans for that matter.>>

What about the bit when they became the most powerful nation on earth, or when they won the Cold War, or when they put a man on the moon, or a bazillion other examples? You may not like America, but you cannot really argue it's successive governments haven't been rather successful.

*Bit surprized that your comments are not more practical.*

LOL Banjo, I'm not quite sure what you mean by that :)

Never underestimate the power of ideas!
Never underestimate the power of how things are said!

Have you noticed how around the world, people celebrated
the Obama win? Its for good reasons.

Clinton when in office, showed great people skills in
international affairs. Interestingly America did well
economically in that time too, but in the end Americans
brought him down for his sexual habits, which is a big
no no in the US.

Internationally however, he is still highly regarded
around the world and still invited to the Middle East,
Europe, even Australia, for his talents.

Along came Bush/Chaney, with above all Chaney's 4 by 2
attitude. America was apparently the greatest and would
do as it pleased, was pretty much the policy. That kind
of arrogant, divisive foreign policy, soon creates
enemies and hatred, which it certainly did.

If you look at Obama's history, he has the ability to
inspire and unite people, rather then divide them. He
then focuses on those.

He has lived outside the US, so understands things from
not just the US perspective. He uses his communication
skills to try and solve issues, rather then just rely
on the US military, as was Chaney's idea of the world.

That change of attitude is why so many people around
the world are inspired, for its such a welcome change,
compared to the last 8 years.

Now compare that to a Sarah Palin, who had barely
joined the campaign to become VP,when she was already
talking about a possible war with Russia. The difference
between those two is like night and day.

Veronika,
Where did you get the idea that I dislike America?

My comments relate to the presidents only. Have a look at a few of the Democrat Presidents.

Kennerdy-- continued Vietnam war, Bay of Pigs fiasco.

LBJ---Dramatic escalation of Vietnam war. LBJ got elected with a genuine landslide. Excellant Senate history. Lost popularity quickly.

Carter-- Most famous for his invasion of Iran in failed attempt to rescue hostages.

Clinton-- Well we know about his notoriety.

Nothing really brilliant about their terms in office. So why is Obama going to be different?

Nothing really outstanding about the Republican Presidents in my time either.

All the acheivements of America you listed, I admire also and more.I love their GOOD country music and their Bluegrass music. But remember some notable failures as well. Quite a few American friends.

It is the procedure of their Presidential elections that I dislike and all the razz-a-ma-tazz that goes with it. Bit like Hollywood, all hoopla and little substance.

We, in Aua, have had to endure months of this garbage nightly and it really makes no difference to us who the actual President is. Our relations with America will continue as they have done and America will continue the same. I even doubt if the ordinary American will notice much difference, just like us when we changed government 12 months ago.

Yabby,
What i meant by being practical was that you seem to have practical approach to other matters and bit surprized that you don't wait to see some form before passing judgement.

Have a look at LBJ's history in the Senate. Brilliant and he won in a proper landslide. And how the people celebrated, but short lived.

How about the euphoria when the statues of saddam came down and what has happened since.

Do you really think that America will dramaticly change attitude with a Democrat for President. Other Democrats have shown they can flex their mussles also, like LBJ and Kennerdy.

I hope you are right and I wish Obana well but will reserve my judgement.

*and it really makes no difference to us who the actual President is.*

Ah Banjo, but that is where you are so wrong. The present global
financial fiasco ultimately happened because Americans elected
dummies like Bush/Cheney. Its not affecting anybody? Sorry but
its affecting people right down in your street, if not your very
own super fund investments. Its affecting interest rates, if you
borrowed money for a house.

Now look at the alternate scenario. Lets say that the American
public decided on McCain/Palin and with McCain not being the
youngest, he suffered heart failure. Before you knew it, Palin
had her finger on the nuclear button. Lacking intelligence,
wisdom and good judgement and being a sabre rattler who thinks that
the US military can solve all America's problems, she started a
war with Russia. It would not affect you and Australia?

Think again. That is the real problem. What America does affects
everyone.

Yabby,
Of course the financial situation in the US is effecting us and probably will continue to effect us for a long, long time. America will do what is necessary to look after themselves and already Obana is talking about measures to protect american industry. This will have a detrimental effect on us. But if that is done, it would be the same whoever was President. I do not expect Obana or any american President will be overly concerned that their financial measures could badly effect Aus or any other country.

I do not believe that the present financial situation purely came about during the term of dubya. Dont forget they previously had Clinton for 8 years. The situation there has been building for many years.

I think you are overstating the hypothetical situation of what Palin may do if she got the reins. Kennerdy and LBJ were both Democrats and did quite a bit more than just rattle the sabres.

Dear Banjo,

Voting is not compulsory in the US
as it is in Australia.

In the past elections have been won by
a pittance - just scraping in with the
electoral vote as Bush did with 271, after
he won the re-count in Florida.
(270 is the requirement for the Presidency).
Gore won more popular votes than Bush (several
million more).

Obama won both the Electoral votes (380+)
and the popular vote count by over six million.

That may not be a landslide in your books - but it's
not chicken feed in anyone else's. And, this election
had the largest voter turn out in history. Which says
it all.

You mentioned Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton left the legacy of a huge and
growing budget surplus. He left office with the largest
boom in US history. Bush has only himself to blame
for his problems.

As for the rattling of sabres under Kennedy...
I seem to recall that Kennedy founded something called the
US Peace Corps which sent thousands of Americans abroad
to help developing nations raise their standard of living.

Then there was the Disarmament Treaty that was signed by
the US, Soviet Union and the UK, banning the testing of
Atomic weapons in the atmosphere, outerspace, and under
water.

I won't mention Civil Rights achievements - because I'm
running out of the word limit.

The point that I'm trying to make is - negativity can always
be found in anything, if you're looking for it.

In the end Americans had a choice in this election,
whether to go with
the politics of cynicism or the politics of hope.
They chose hope.

As Barack Obama put it:

"America, this is our moment. This is our time.
Our time to turn the page of the policies of the past."

John McCain lost because he didn't get it.

And there's many like him still out there.

foxy,
We could debate this until the cows come home and I doubt if either of us would come out on top.
The performance of the US Preident and his popularity can depend upon many things, that involve a lot of big "IFs".

IF the Carter administration had not passed The Community Reinvestment Act and IF subsequent governments had not passed various amendments to that act, they probably would not have the financial mess they have at present. IF anyone of them had brought peace to the Israel/Palistine situation their office woud be assured.

The Iraqi war ended when the Saddam statues came down, now IF the Iraqi people had embraced democracy, instead of blowing each other up, Bush would have been a hero. The sad thing about Iraq is that any intervention will now not be contemplated no matter how bad a despot is and how many people are murdered. The outlook is poor for quite a few African countries. The current UN action there seems hopeless without US participation.

The other thing about US Presidents is whether or not they are supported by both houses of government. This can determine whether he gets his way or is directed in a certain way by the government.

At this point the Democrats control both houses so Obama should get what he wants but he will still have to argue his case. this could easily change at the next election for the Senate or Reps.

Despite the debate going on in the US about who is to blame for the financial crisis, it seems to me that both parties have to wear the blame equally because they both made decissions and ammendments that led to it. The financial crisis did not develope overnight, or in the last few years. Anyway it will be interesting to see what takes place.

As I have said before, I wish Obana and America all the best but I see tough times ahead, for us too. What you deem negativity I call objectivity.

Banjo, sorry but the present financial crisis really did blow up
in the last few years, when Bush/Chaney had control of both houses
and the job of prez. Ultimately the buck stops with him, as he
could have changed any law he pleased, as the writing became
clearer on the wall. Ultimate power also means ultimate
responsibility, when things go wrong. So its on his shoulders.

As to Iraq, did it really need the death of 100'000 people and
the dismantling of the Iraqi army, to get rid of 3 people,
ie Saddam and his two sons? Why could some well informed
intelligence and a couple of targeted missiles just get rid of
the three of them? The regime would have collapsed after that.

The thing is, Bush/Chaney just loved playing with their war toys,
no matter the consequences. Every thought was given as to how to
use them more effectively, no thought given to what happened after
that. Once again, Bush bears ultimate responsibility for the
disaster which has followed, as he had ulimate power at the time.

Dear Banjo,

I've always respected your point of view
because your arguments are
never personal or insulting.

However, allow me the euphoria of this
historic win. I lived and worked in the
United States (Los Angeles) for over
nine years. I know what this win means
to so many in the US.

Let's wait and see what the future brings.
You're entitled to your conservatism.
I'm entitled to my joy.

All The Best,

Dear David, What Barak said was something like this "All men regardless of race, creed, or culture are one nation under God .
As he attended a christian fellowship He learned only that is possible in Jesus . I have no doubt that he understood what he was saying and I am sure he was not saying A people "devided" by race, creed, or culture or other supostitions can ever be united, UNLESS they CHOOSE to put aside their diferences. I chose to believe and hope that Barak Obama is God's man for this hour for the world until I see the fruit of his presidency for we need a leader with an enlarged heart big enough to believe with God nothing is impossible or we are destined for more of the same ,
If you always do what you have always done you will always get what you always got . In the 30's and 40's Roseveldt , Churchill and Curtin were 3 such men , not perfect but willing to put aside their diferences for the sake of the world . Men with enlarged hearts who answered the call and paid the price to keep our world free so you can have the luxury to believe what you chose .