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Over to Obama

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-06 07:42

The change that Barack Obama so fervently advocated dawned upon America yesterday as voters embraced his forceful and uplifting message.

When Americans went to the polls, it was a divided nation foundering at home and abroad, and in the throes of an economic crisis not seen in many generations.

For all its shortcomings, the presidential campaign offered hope of national redemption and reconciliation.

And when the polls closed, it was clear Obama is the embodiment of that hope; as he declared in his acceptance speech in Chicago last night: "Change has come".

Just 45 years after Martin Luther King had a "dream" of a post-racial America, a disparate coalition of white workers in Pennsylvania, retired Jews in Florida, and bilingual Hispanics in New Mexico put a black man in the White House.

But the celebrations will be short-lived. As the president-elect noted somberly: "The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep We may not get there in one year or even one term"

The immediate tasks for Obama at home look daunting: Restoring trust in the financial system, dragging the country out of a severe downturn, creating jobs that have been vanishing; providing healthcare to millions who have negligible cover - and fulfilling the expectations he has generated.

His nation waits for change it can believe in.

As he looks across his nation's borders, he sees the tattered fabric of America's reputation which he has promised to mend through dialogue.

At least, it is hoped his election marks the end of his nation's unipolar fantasy.

The Bush administration believed that, as the last remaining superpower, it could impose its will on the world by force. It made little efforts to compromise with - or even listen to - a world it wanted to bring to heel. It boasted of the need to maintain "full spectrum dominance" over the planet, and to have more firepower than all potential rivals combined. It trashed treaties, scorned the United Nations, and refused to talk to anybody it disagreed with.

Obama disagrees with many of the extremes of the out-going Bush administration - from Iraq to torture.

The president-elect has pledged to renew American diplomacy to meet the challenges of the 21st century. He will rebuild alliances. He said his administration would be willing to meet with all nations, be they friends or foes, to advance American interests.

The world waits to see the change it can believe in.

China and the US share a broad spectrum of interests, which have proved to be the foundation for building a stable, long-term relationship.

In their messages of congratulations, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao told the incoming US president that China is willing to have more dialogue with the US, build mutual trust and expand co-operation.

Obama needs to reciprocate whole-heartedly, for a healthy Sino-US relationship is not only important for the two countries but also the rest of the world.

China waits to see the change it can believe in.

(China Daily 11/06/2008 page10)