The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

A 'Victory for America'

"Congratulations must be extended to Americans for taking this important step in breaking down racial barriers and for the first time in history, sending an African-American - and one with strong Asian connections for good measure - to the White House."

EDITORIAL

November 5, 2008

The Jakarta Post - Indonesia - Home Page (English)

Americans have spoken and have made an excellent choice. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday is a victory for America, for multiracialism, for civil rights, for liberal democracy and for common sense.

And the world is so much better off with Obama taking charge of the only global superpower and the world's largest - and therefore most important - economy.

Congratulations must first be extended to Americans for taking this important step in breaking down racial barriers and for the first time in history, sending an African-American - and one with strong Asian connections for good measure - to the White House.

Obama's election doesn't suggest racism is wiped out once and for all, but it signals that a sizable majority of voters believe America is the land of equal opportunity, where anyone born in that land, irrespective of race, ethnicity or religion, can become its president.

Martin Luther King's dream has been fulfilled. Americans put aside their racial prejudices on Tuesday and picked the best son of the land for the job: Obama.

When he plunged into election politics two years ago, the Illinois senator captured the imagination of many Americans, particularly younger ones. He campaigned on a platform of change and remained consistent throughout, garnering ever-more adherents.

He promised to change the divisive politics of Washington, bridge the conservative-liberal divide of American society and then, responding to the financial crisis and the onset of recession, the reining in of Wall Street.

Whether or not he can bring about these changes in the four years of his mandate, which is a tall order indeed, remains to be seen. Never mind.

His election already represents a significant change in American politics. Americans voted in record numbers because they felt that at this moment, their voices could make a difference, and because they believed in the values that Obama extols.

We should also congratulate the Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, who would have been the oldest elected president in the United States had he won, for putting up such a brave fight down to the very last hours of the campaign.

The inevitable negative campaigning by both sides did indeed sully the campaign, but the attacks were minor and the two men remained respectful of one another. (They always addressed one another with the honorific title of senator- even as one attacked the other.) Unfortunately, this is a game in which of necessity - there can be only one winner. And McCain accept his defeat with tremendous grace.

For putting on such a fine display of liberal democracy, these elections were a tribute to all Americans, including the candidates. A democratic electoral process is no guarantee that the best candidate always wins, and at times elections in the U.S. and elsewhere send the wrong people to office. In some ways, Obama's victory restores the faith Americans have in the democratic process.

Obama is also good for the rest of world.

He has had widespread support around the globe not only because of his Kenyan father and the four years he spent in Indonesia as a child, but also because of his politics.

Outgoing President George W. Bush and his unilateralism and his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have severely damaged America's standing in the world - and the financial crisis now dragging down the rest of the global economy has made it worse. 

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

In addition to these wars and the global economic crisis, America desperately needs to address other problems, such as the Middle East conflict, global warming, the food and energy crises, HIV/AIDS and drug abuse.

Once he moves into the White House, Obama's wide support should make it easy for other countries to work with the United States. Finally, Obama's presidency portends good things for U.S.-Indonesian relations.

[PHOTO STANLEY ANN DUNHAM]

The potential for goodwill comes not only because he went to school in Jakarta as a six-year-old where classmates remember him as the tallest boy in the class - the one they called Barry. More importantly, goodwill was implanted in Obama by his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham  [photo from 1960, right], an American social worker who spent many years helping Indonesia's poor. Some of her Indonesian friends remember her fondly and recall her proudly talking of her son growing up and going to Harvard University. Ann passed away in 1995.

Although relations between the two nations are as good one would expect, Obama's Indonesian experience adds a personal and emotional factor to the equation.

We wish to extend our condolences for the passing of Madelyn Dunham , Obama's maternal grandmother, in Hawaii a few days before Tuesday's election. This victory is a tribute to both Madelyn, who raised Obama and his sister in Hawaii in the absence of his mother, and to Ann Dunham. Both women would be proud of him.

Selamat, Pak Barry.

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US November 6, 1:12am]