This is not a political blog. And we are not much for politics. But electing the President of the United States is big news followed all around the world. Especially this year. As Americans living abroad, we have been able to watch this election from a unique vantage point and it has been fascinating in many ways.
We have been surprised by the interest in this election around the world. As early as March when we visited Morocco, locals asked us about Obama and chanted “Yes we can” upon learning that we were Americans. This was even before Obama was selected as a candidate.
Just last month, many Tanzanians we met were excited about Obama and made point to mention it. The people of Stonetown in Zanzibar even organized a full scale campaign dedicating the “Obama Tree” to the cause.
And across Europe and in our daily lives we regularly encountered enthusiasm and optimism about Obama. Even my development team in Costa Rica was excited about the prospect of Obama’s victory.
And now that the prospect is reality, the world’s response has been jubilation. It dominated headlines and filled multiple spreads in the papers here in London. They reported on celebrations here and around the world from France to Kenya to Japan. A friend from K’s MBA program wrote us an e-mail the next morning from Tunisia describing people dancing in the streets on news of Obama’s victory.
Obama will soon become the “leader of the free world” and the citizens of the world seem pleased. This is good for America. With this vote, we have voted for change. We have taken the first step in turning things around. I am hopeful for what Obama can do for America both at home and abroad. I am hopeful that he will be able to regain the trust, respect and admiration from around the world. I am hopeful that he will be able to preserve and restore our deteriorating freedoms. He has a good start — he has shown the world that the American Dream is still alive.