Arizona elected a Democratic Gov. in '06. No reason why AZ won't turn Blue. Home foreclosures and auto repos are affecting everyone's property values. The entire local economy is affected. When you see Obama painted on the rear window of luxury vehicles in Paradise Valley (old money) the locals can't help but think the results from AZ on Tuesday night will be far from certain.

Obama's father was a Harvard educated economist - I guess that detail would make Neil's observation about goatherders and default anti-Americanism redundant, rather than merely trite.

While this article makes a few good points, I am annoyed by the insinuation that the world enjoys hating Americans so much that Obama will spoil all the fun we had during the last eight years.
Come on, everybody likes stereotypes - but people aren't that simple.
As a European, I can say that I have admired the US for most of my life; it's the Bush regime with its needless war in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp we want to see flushed down the toilet.
If Obama wins, he will reshape/restore not only the world's image of America, but his background will inspire those who believe that we can come together - as people, as nations - to solve our problems.
Of course, the end of US unilateralism will inevitably mean more responsibilities for other countries. That's just fair. And yes, Old Europe still has a lot of homework to do, also with regards to representing minorities. However, you might want to consider that Barack Obama is a truly unique man among 300 million Americans. Smaller countries with smaller minorities may find it harder to find and promote such a gem. As for the Turks in Germany: One of them was rather successful in the Green party, and he is not the only one. Still I think he'd prefer if you not referred to him as "a brown face in parliament", but rather as a talented politician.

This article seemed to be a largely "current expectations" critique of what an Obama presidency could mean for the US and the world.

Obama could be more than Europeans ask for, but I doubt that. I think Obama is so popular because A) he is relatively conservative when considering international politics and B) He forces European countries to address their own racial problems. The fact that he has become such a figure in American idealism only further emphasizes those previous points that would seem to earn him the kind of support he has in Europe. With his current approval ratings, the Obama presidency is all but guaranteed to be a let-down for Europeans, but I think that might be good for Europe and its self-centered opposition to any sort of military action. It's time to move on from WWII guys (the irony of this statement is noted).

Surprisingly enough, while the economy will be the issue that decides this election, I believe that foreign policy will define the next presidency. Will the next president attempt to open and broad international institutions to bring smart regulation to the robust global economy? Or will the US instead try and isolate itself around a narrow set of interests and ideals it plans to protect?

The cards that Obama has to play are under-rated. Iran may be a menacing challenge, but it's people are dissatisfied with their government and if the US can appeal to them, it can succeed regardless of the ambitions of their leaders. In today's world, it seems that the best way to govern would be to allow yourself to lose some face in order to gain for power on the negotiation end and from those looking for compromise.

As long as Obama can look strong in the face of waning American power, he will be a very successful president. Everyone knows that the US is going to matter in foreign affairs, so let them talk; they've already listened a great deal.

As much as I understand some of this point of view, for the most part I believe it is only partial truth.

First of all, saying that having a half black president will somehow make Europe hate us more is rubbish. In the US, a third of the country are minorities. There aren't countries in Europe where they have such a high percentage of the population that are non-white, or not even from that country. We are a country made up of immigrants while European nations are not. Most of these nations formed over centuries, and majority of the their citizens are natives. And also keep in mind, that majority of the minorities in our country have been around a lot longer than minorities in Europe. Yes, minorities are under represented in European countries, but it's the same in US. There's more minorities in the government now, but it took decades and a lot of work to get to the under represented level that we are now from no representation. With that in mind, I don't think it's a stretch to say that it's by time we had a minority presidential candidate who can possibly win since minorities are making up a significant percentage. We all know it's a matter of time before white Americans will no longer be the majority in this country. And compared to Europe, we are way behind in not being prejudicial or sexist. Trust me, Anti-American sentiments will not be on the rise in Europe or elsewhere in the world if we have a black president. I used live in both Europe and Asia for years, not days or months, and it just doesn't work that way out there.

Second, you say Obama will be a president who will govern moderately down the middle. Don't we all remember why McCain wasn't too popular with his own party? He was too moderate for most. He has gone in the deep end for the election process, but he, too, will have to worry about 2012 election if he lives that long. And, I guarentee the tention at the capital will be greater if we have McCain in office with Dems controlling both houses.

I don't have enough time to say all that is not right with this article, but I will say this. Europe won't regret getting what they asked for as long as we fix our economy and stop dragging other nations into a pointless wars.

The United States is on the verge of becoming the most progressive country in the world. As it should be. People are most popular when they are admired, but not envied. During the Presidency of George W. Bush, America has gone from being admired to only envied. Now that America is admirable again, we must make sure that we work as a partner with the rest of the free world so that everyone can join in our bounty.

Turk here. Complection of an Ivory girl, and both my mother and aunt are blondes. Funny, I've always considered myself Caucasian. Neil should perhaps open his mind, um, his eyes, up a little wider.

"The United States is on the verge of becoming the most progressive country in the world." Not hardly: though we will remain the one nation most adept at patting ourselves on our own back.

Obama will have won taking tens of millions from the same New York investment banks that funded Dubya and Reagan--and they never condoned the voiding of 2.7 million votes.

The Europeans will continue to look down their nose at our "militarism" as they refuse to act to stop genocides (even on their own continent) because they are too politically evolved to deal with messy force issues. You can talk the likes of Hitler and Bin Laden into civilized behavior if you understand them--or so goes the European ethic of the early 21st Century.
Since unilateralism deprives Europeans of their veto over use of force, it must continue to be seen as prehistoric and evil.

Obama, in spite of his too-the-bones saturation as a manipulative politician, is not a stupid man. Geopolitical realities today will continue to be realities at the end of January. Obama and McCain will both do pretty much the same.

Big changes come to America in fits: the Revolution, the 1860s, the 1930s and the 1960s. Politicians only "bring" big changes when the people demand them. The 2008 race has been run in the traditional way: raise huge sums of money from the same ol' group of investors in return from government and spend it on TV. How can it be thought such a system will produce a sea change?