| During the campaign, Sarah Palin saw what her constituents feared and capitalized on their concerns. She addressed the ample alarm from the podium. When her message was questioned, she retorted, she had proof. Barack Obama was not equipped to govern. Governor Palin thanked the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee for the confirmation of her thoughts. Alaskan Executive Palin pointed to the words of the then Vice Presidential nominee, Joe Biden. In a Seattle fundraiser, the Foreign Relations expert cautioned, "We're gonna find ourselves in real trouble when we get elected."
John McCain, the Presidential aspirant, advanced the clamor when he too recounted the prophecy. "Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."
The Confederate Yankee rejoiced when the Delaware Senator stated, "Mark my words; . . . the world is looking."
Persons on the Right could not resist the temptation to omit the full statement, "'They're going to find this guy's got steel in his spine." Grand Old Party participants knew better. The Right relentlessly explained, a President Obama would be a risk to the nation. Indeed, if Barack Obama were Commander-In-Chief, the country would suffer. The world would not bow at his feet as the American press and people had.`
Republicans ranted; if Barack Obama were placed in the Oval Office, in every part of this planet, adversaries would know, American shores were vulnerable. The world's superpower was no longer safe or secure. Foreign foes would certainly attack. Traditionalists warned; if Obama were this nation's Chief Executive, allies would have abundant reason for fear. McCain and Palin were unwilling to ponder possibilities, such as Six More Foreign-Leader Calls for Obama.
The two, and those who advocated for them, could not imagine a time when Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, President Lech Kaczynski of Poland and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan would request a conversation with Commander-In-Chief Barack Obama. Nor would they wish to.
'That One,' Conservatives would remind the public, the Socialist, would not assist American businessmen and women. Hence, he could not be relied upon to offer relief to other nations. Traditionalists attested to what they thought fact, an Obama Administration would not advance democracy. Barack Obama, the Republicans reminded, does not know how to defend a country. He has never held such a high office.
The "Right" rejected the notion that John McCain also had not served his country in the White House. They preferred to posit Palin as the most qualified manager among the four possible Presidential [and vice Presidential] candidates. After all, Sarah Palin had served as an Administrator. She managed a city and a state. She is a beloved leader of substance. The Governor of Alaska and her supporters, former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani among them, avowed, she could handle the job.
Another Republican, who earlier deferred to the wisdom of John McCain, Fred Thompson, assured America, Thompson said Palin has the experience needed in Washington. The American politician called her "a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit."
Well, perhaps for those who think politics is but sport and the District of Columbia beltway is but a party for the charismatic who were able to close a deal, the recent competitive row is complete. The results are in. The scorecard is now full. Barack Obama is the successor, and just as the Grand Old Party predicted, the world reacted. The sentiment can be expressed in but a single word, "Elation."
Emotional events in the streets were realized. They were just not the raucous riots John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Republicans expected All were peaceful. People did parade en masse. No one marched; many danced.
"The New World," the Times of London declared on its front page, beneath a huge smiling portrait of Obama.
"One Giant Leap for Mankind," echoed the Sun. . . .
"A lot of people told me they had tears in their eyes last night. I was one of them," Randa Habib, a Jordanian writer and political analyst, said Wednesday. . . .
[L]egions of jubilant supporters set off firecrackers in El Salvador, danced in Liberia, and drank shots in Japan. Good wishes went streaming Obama-ward from homemakers in Indonesia . . . and from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also beat long odds to lead his country.
"Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place," said one letter addressed simply to "Senator Barack Obama, Chicago."
Its author: Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, writing to the first black president-to-be of the United States. . . .
Those inspired by Obama's origins and accomplishments include French political activist Patrick Lozes, the son of an immigrant from the African nation of Benin.
"This election is going to improve the image the U.S.A. has in our neighborhoods," Lozes said of France's heavily Muslim working-class enclaves. "The American dream comes back to life."
Tens of thousands of Europeans turned out to catch a glimpse of Obama during his tour of the continent over the summer. Many are counting on him to restore a more harmonious relationship between the U.S. and Europe, after recent years of tension over the war in Iraq and matters such as climate change.
A similar hope lives in Mexico, where former Foreign Secretary Jorge Castañeda wrote in Wednesday's Reforma newspaper: "Obama won, the map of the United States was transformed and for Mexico an extraordinary opportunity has opened . . . because it will be infinitely simpler to be a neighbor, partner and friend of the United States with Obama."
Republicans are "Right" again. The world is not as it once was. People, in every corner of the planet were moved to respond. Common folk could not be contained. Presidents, Prime Ministers, powerbrokers, and the populace as a whole were unbound. The restraints imposed by Grand Old Party rule were broken. People felt liberated. Freedom from oppression, rather than fear rang out. Flags flailed. Yet, not as forecasted by Conservatives, none were burned when the world realized Barack Obama is America's President.
References for Republican Rally . . .
- 'Thanks Joe.' Palin Mocks Biden's Generated 'Crisis' Remarks. By Carl Campanile. The New York Post. October 21, 2008
- Good News! Biden Promises an International Incident to Test Obama if He's Elected, and Also Promises Obama Will Screw It Up. Confederate Yankee
- Joe Biden at Seattle fundraiser transcript says Obama will be tested, By Lynn Sweet. Chicago Sun Times. October 21, 2008 2:59 PM
- Six More Foreign-Leader Calls for Obama. By Glenn Kessler. Washington Posyt. November 7, 2008
- Sarah Palin "already has more executive experience" than Barack Obama and Joe Biden "combined. By Rudy Giuliani. PolitiFact. August 31, 2008
- GOP speakers step up to defend Palin. Cable News Network. September 3, 2008
- World reaction to Obama victory: Elation, Around the globe, people express joy over his victory and admiration for U.S. democracy. By Henry Chu. The Los Angeles Times. November 6, 2008
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