With the stunning election of Barack Hussein Obama to the presidency, change has officially arrived. Even if he is a complete failure as a president, or if tragedy strikes.

Change is here because even more important than the policy differences with Sen. John McCain is the fact that Americans actually elected him to begin with. Martin Luther King famously had a dream that his children would one day live in a nation "where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

That dream is now reality because Obama was judged on his policies and character. And he didn't get there simply because blacks voted for him. It took tens of millions of white and Latino voters also. That change can be nothing less than a shock to every poltical system we have.

The change is such that you can almost hear the jaws hitting the floor in nations around the world, from places where the U.S. is often reviled. Can you imagine the response in the Arab world? Americans elected a guy with the name Hussein?

The biggest losers in this election are those seek to sow hatred because of the conduct of the Bush administration. That hatred reflected on us all. But now what? How do hate-mongers and terrorists engage in recruitment for their wars if Americans have rejected the policy of arrogance and belligerence and shown an open mind to a new era? The invasion of Iraq was a boon to Al-Qaeda, which thrives on war and anarchy. The election of Obama will, I think, be one of the worst things to happen to it when it comes to creating more terrorists. It is now more difficult to demonize America.

The election was met with happiness in both Israel and the Arab world. Think about that, and the doors it could open and the opportunities that could be realized. (Addendum: See hundreds of newspaper front pages here, and click on pictures to enlarge.)

We need not wait for a new dawn of change on January 20th. It arrived last night when the polls closed and Americans made their voices known.
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Photo credit: Julie Turkewitz

Prior election coverage:

• P.T. Barnum was Wrong on Sarah Palin (10/31/08)

• Political Malpractice (By John McCain) (10/26/08)

• Presidential Politics and the Iowa Caucus (1/2/08)

Labels: Elections, Politics