President-elect Obama

So Obama has won an expected victory. His acceptance speech in Chicago was very eloquent, almost inspirational. I preferred McCain till a few months ago, but his uneven campaigning and a horrendous selection of vice president, made me agree that Obama was a better candidate. Obama's inexperience is more than compensated by the qualities he displayed during a stupendously executed campaign - articulateness, a calm demanour and the determination to stick to a well thought out strategy even in the midst of the financial meltdown and other crises. He is an idealist but displays a clear political street smartness too. I think Obama's will be a successful presidency. Still, I do spare more than a thought for McCain - his concession speech was graceful.

The world is delighted by the Obama victory, it is evident. I wonder how long that will last. Some months later, when Obama will act in what he thinks are the best interests of his country, I'm sure most people will revert back to their habitual disillusionment with the US. Perhaps the US will not be disliked as much as it has been during the Bush years, but so long as it remains a pre-eminent world power (that's another 20 years atleast), global opprobium will be its reward, I'm afraid.