What a sweet, sweet moment.
Barack Obama is to be President of the United States.
He will be the first African American to achieve such high office - scaling a mountain that many must have believed unconquerable.
What a sweet, sweet victory for the descendants of America's slaves; for those so recently segregated, discriminated against and abused.
It is incredible to think that in 1963 Martin Luther King pronounced his 'I have a dream' speech.
And that today his dream, whatever shade of black you consider Obama to be, is a reality.
Millions of Americans have chosen to transcend race, setting an example for other parts of the world where politics and life are too often defined by ethnic discrimination.
Obama's victory is a victory for America; over its fears and its prejudices. It is, without doubt, a cry for change and a recognition of the miserable failure of his predecessor (and for that matter his opponent).
In electing Barack Obama, the United States can restore some dignity to its battered reputation, tarnished by unnecessary war, unbridled greed and unparalleled arrogance in the international arena.
This was also a victory of optimism in the face of the negative, fear driven, politics of the Bush era.
Americans have dared to hope that with a new leader they can repair some of the destruction of these past years.
Meanwhile, the rest of the planet is breathing a sigh of relief. For Obama, unlike Bush, is a man of the world...literally.
With his roots in spanning from Kenya to Kansas and his formative years spent in Indonesia, Obama cannot help but bring a new world view to the office of President. And for this the planet cheers, knowing, or hoping at least, that under Obama America may, once again, balance its might with justice and reason.
The challenges facing the new President are simply colossal. One man alone, even with the momentum of support Obama has generated, cannot quickly change the course of the most powerful nation on earth. Like a vast Titanic unable to swerve, the US will surely have to live through a severe crisis in the months, and perhaps years, ahead.
Obama must now temper the euphoria and explain to his constituents that the road ahead, even with a man of his quality at the wheel, will be difficult and perilous.
But now is not the time to wax serious, nor to douse the joy with realism. Now is the time to party, to celebrate a great and historic moment - a victory for hope. The hope that Obama will be the man he has portrayed himself as and that his successes will be as dramatic as George W. Bush's failures.
Picture Credits:
Top Photo: A building adorned with a vote Obama sign in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. By Jesper Haynes
Second Photo: Obama Supporters Celebrate in NYC. By Jesper Haynes
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