British Reaction to U.S. Election
Posted November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am in American Leadership 
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It will come as no surprise that Barack Obama’s emphatic victory has been warmly greeted in the United Kingdom and across Europe. Newspapers are covered with proclamations of a history-changing moment for the United States.
The record turnout, particularly among groups that previously felt they belonged only on the margins of society, is surely something to be impressed by — and a trend all Western parties will hope to learn from. The so-called “Bradley effect” never materialized. And there stands a good chance that race may now be laid to rest as an issue of division in American society. For European countries struggling with issues of immigration, integration and assimilation, there is clearly something to learn from America.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called President-elect Obama “a true friend” of the United Kingdom, highlighting his faith in the endurance of the Anglo-American “special relationship.” There is talk across Europe about the possibility of an American-endorsed Kyoto II protocol. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke excitedly about “an era of renewed partnership and a new multilateralism.”
Obama has as much expectation on his shoulders internationally, as he does domestically. And he has an agenda full of thorny and difficult issues to confront in both the short and long term: a financial crisis, an unstable Afghanistan and a resurgent Russia to name but a few.
The goodwill, legitimacy and credibility of Obama’s election win endows him with a mandate on the international stage. His advisers would do well to tell him this may not last forever. If he does intend to petition Europe for increased manpower commitments in Afghanistan, he should do it sooner rather than later.
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6 Responses to “British Reaction to U.S. Election”
MARK , HOUSTON on November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am said:
The Brits have been our friends for a long time now, so have the aussies . As for the rest of europe , who really cares what they think.
barbara gore, covina on November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am said:
I wonder how long it will take for Europe to realize that American media protected and elected Obama. American people were dinied the truth by American media and American people woted on what the media told us. American people still in the dark about who is B. Obama. It will come as a shock to those who count on Obama to take care of them, He can’t do that. America is still free country, and we do not want any socialism here….
Dave, Tennessee on November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am said:
I fail to understand the necessity for European countries to like the election results in America. While realizing that our country is continuing to become a more global environment, thus becoming interdependent on other countries, I feel that socialistic ideology (however you package it – ie. CHANGE) has failed in most every regard compared to capitalism. History has taught us this down through the years. AMERICA drank the kool-aid and now we must pray that God’s will be done. GOD BLESS AMERICA and please pray for our soldiers.
Bev, Georgia on November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am said:
Dave, I could not have said it any better…. God Bless you.
JOHNNY R ,WAYNESVILLE,MO on November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am said:
AMERICA PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO PRAY FOR OUR VETERANS AND THE
MEN AND WOMEN SERVING OUR COUNTRY(USA).
THANKS AND GOD BLESS AMERICAN
Jake, United States, WI on November 7th, 2008 at 8:08am said:
Yeah, capitalism is great. Let’s give more of our money to the capitalists, shall we? After all, they earned it. They’re rich, right? So, they should be richer. What’s this I hear about them being in trouble? Holy moley, we have to give them tons of taxpayer dollars! We can’t have them serving sardines instead of caviar on their yachts! What would America be if that happened!
Also, I heard that there is oil in some mideast country called Iraq, and that they are not just GIVING it to us. WTF? OK, enough of that. Let’s get the useless poor people serving in our armed forces to take care of that little situation. Also, they’ll love us! We’re giving them FREEDOM! What? They don’t know how to use the freedom and are viewing our “liberation” as “occupation??” Oh well, we’ll just make them see the error of their ways and send them to Cuba. That should do the trick. Also, we’ll torture some of them. What fun!
Give me a break. You people are living in a dream world. Barack Obama may not be a saint, and he certainly wasn’t my first choice, but after 8 years of Chimpy Mc Bush, he’s a god send.
The last 8 years should have taught you the following about Republicans and conservatives:
1) If you want to ruin your economy, hire a conservative.
2) If you want to start a war for no good reason, hire a conservative.
3) If you don’t care about laws, and think of them just as a formality, hire a conservative.
4) If you think reading a newspaper makes you an elitist, hire a conservative.
5) If you think that the US Military is a game piece on a Risk game board, hire a conservative.
I hope to God the conservative philosophy is dying a nasty death, but I know better.
Think on these things.