The rally for freedom and Democracy around the world could very well be President Barack Obama's, Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" moment.
San Francisco Chronicle
In Nigeria's Punch, commentator Ben Nanaghan wrote of Obama's Denver outing: "Though Barack Obama is not the great-grandchild of a slave...[,] present-day America is the only country in the whole world where such a story is possible" - a story, that is, in which a black man could even dream of becoming the presidential nominee of a major political party. Nanaghan observed that this year's Democratic National Convention "will go down [in history] as...the most glorious and the most emotionally edifying event in the annals of American history, for which President[s] Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy would have been so proud....It was a day when tears flowed freely from both black and white cheeks - from those present at the venue and millions of others linked by the electronic media....It was a day of sober soul-searching." Obama's achievement, the Nigerian commentator added, can be seen not only as "a victory for America's Democratic Party" and not only as "a victory for America," but rather as "a triumphant, soul-edifying victory for mankind."
Land Of the Free Conservative news:
While addressing the many thousands of people in Berlin, Obama promised that he would do what no other world leader, president, nor even God has been able to do–he would unite Christians, Muslins, and Jews.
The Independent 2008:
His speech yesterday, to a mile-long crowd of 200,000 people in Berlin's Tiergarten Park, drew larger crowds than he has ever done in America.
"The overseas gathering in the midst of a presidential campaign was seemingly without precedent in American history," declared the Boston Globe.
The New York Times said the images, which were broadcast live on TV screens across the world, showed "a candidate who could restore the world's faith in strong American leadership and idealism".
New York Times 2008:
"Obama's got the whole world in his hands”
Star Tribune
Hilary Bown, 27, a Duluth native and leader of "Young Democrats Berlin," said she was thrilled by the turnout.
Bown said the response to "Young Democrats Berlin" has been overwhelming, and pointed out that even young Germans from the Social Democrat Party had shown up to help for the Obama event.
She said her group focuses on voter registration -- what she calls "the core of American democracy" -- via "viral" methods such as Facebook and e-mail.
President Obama’s speech to Cairo:
"I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles -- principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."
The President said that no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other, but that America is committed to advancing governments that reflect the will of the people.
Egypt Obama Speech:
The people of Egypt have rights that are universal
. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.
Around the world governments have an obligation to respond to their citizens. That's true here in the United States. That's true in Asia. It is true in Europe. It is true in Africa. And it is certainly true in the Arab world, where a new generation of citizens has the right to be heard. When I was in Cairo shortly after I was elected president, I said that all governments must maintain power through consent, not coercion. That is the single standard by which the people of Egypt will achieve the future they deserve
ABC news: President Obama
"The people of Egypt have spoken. Their voices have been heard and Egypt will never be the same," the president said. "By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change, but this is not the end of Egypt's transition. It's the beginning."
Obama praised the protesters and their peaceful demonstrations that have rocked the country for the past 18 days.
"Over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace," he said.
Fox’s Mitchell Bard said,
In his first year, President Obama tried to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world in a brilliant speech from Cairo expressing his respect for Islam and his intent to break with past policies that created enmity in the region. That outreach effort failed…
Oh really Mr Bard?
When Obama went overseas before the 2008 election and during the inauguration he showed our enemies that WE support more than just white people. We support all races/religions. They saw him with their own eyes. This spread like wildfire.
Even in Iran they TRIED to change things right after Obama became president, remember?
The people of Egypt took control of their lives. Now we are seeing millions around the globe rising up and demanding their rights in their own nations.
While we won't know for years how each nation that is fighting for their freedom and/or Democracy of sorts, it is a given that one huge reason they are standing up to dictatorships is because of they've seen our nation put forth as our leader.
Candidate and now President Obama is one huge reason for this sudden CHANGE OF VIEW and NEW BEGINNINGS around the world.