A Victory for America

The U.S. has reason to celebrate a victory as decisive as the win by the Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday.

It is almost too simple to just say that it was a landslide. It was a victory that was national, and reached far beyond what is normal for a presidential election in a country divided in half.

Obama won all over America. That is why the victory can make Americans unite at a time where it is more neccesary than even to stand together. It was a well-earned victory. It is rare to see a person able to unite Americans using his personality to such a degree. Now comes the time when Obama has to show that he is able to transfer his great speeches and vision into real politics. We still do not know if he can. But one should have the deepest respect for a person who has been able to make Americans stand by him to such a degree with the problems they are facing.

The war on terror has cost enormous resources, both human and economic. The fight has also divided the rest of the world. America is not alone in this fight. But America has also made a long line of new enemies that will cost equal amounts of resources to combat in the future. Countries who are allies of the U.S., and are normally viewed as its friends, are also beginning to doubt the war on terror. Not because they do not believe in it, but because President George W. Bush does not have much to offer any more. Obama can pull this in the right direction again. He represents a united America more than any president. That means he has to commit both nationally and internationally. The expectations of him are sky high.

Obama is an untested politician, and we really do not know that much about him. But what we do know is that he is able to create excitement. He has grown tremendously. His political message is even more clear now than it was a year ago. He has clear policies in areas concerning us: Iraq, Afghanistan, the war on terror, to name but a few. It is also clear that he takes his role as leader of the world seriously. His tour of many countries this summer gave him an impression of the problems he is facing.

The financial crisis will be a huge challenge. The world economy is about to fall apart. Current economic theories have fallen apart. There will be, as Obama expressed in his victory speech, an uphill struggle to put the nation back on its feet. And there he does not need the help of the American people alone. It will be an international effort. There is no doubt that he can use the victory and the huge backing of the people to recover what Bush has lost internationally. The sympathy for Obama is there. But it is urgent.