The declaration that Barack Obama would be the Democratic Party candidate for the 2008 presidential race, was met by a resounding cheer by most of the world community.
The BBC exclaimed: "The man makes history." The Associated Press wrote: "Barack Obama's presidential nomination sparks worldwide excitement." Indeed it did. The Times of London's headline was: "Obama waits on the threshold of history. He has rekindled America's faith in its prodigious powers of reinvention and the world's admiration for America."
Many international newspapers featured Obama’s photo on their front page, some comparing the events of his nomination to those of John F. Kennedy. No people could have been more proud and excited than those who live in Kenya.
The prestigious Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique, which speaks for the Third World, had this title: "Joy and pride in Western Kenya following the victory of Obama." It described how dozens of people gathered Wednesday June 4 before the house of Sarah Obama in the western part of Kenya to celebrate the victory of her grandson Barack. "I was very thrilled to know that he won a big victory against his rival," she said before journalists who came to question her in the village of Nyangoma on the borders of Lake Victoria. "I am very happy, and I continue to pray for him to win again in the future," she added.
Pascal Onyango, a businessman in Kisumu, Kenya, could not restrain his excitement. To the Associated Press he declared, "Finally, one of us is ascending to the highest office in America. Obama has made our community and our country proud. We are very happy."
Of course, many of the same comparisons made by Obama supporters in the U.S. were repeated.
In Germany, many found Obama a mixture of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. In the Netherlands, the respected daily NRC Handelsblad wrote that Obama's nomination was "a historical event even if he does not become president in the end." In Vietnam, a real estate salesman described Obama this way: "He seems to be a peace lover. He would have a better understanding of how to treat people of different nationalities and different countries."
Many in the world see Obama as
a candidate who is more aware of the world outside the borders of the United States. Indonesians were rooting Wednesday for the man they consider to be a hometown hero. Obama, in fact, lived in Indonesia from ages 6-10 with his mother and Indonesian stepfather.
McCain’s earlier nomination was quite the polar opposite; it was met by the world community with a collective yawn.
Link