What will a Clinton nomination win mean for the presidential elections? What will an Obama win anticipate for the future??
Writing from Canada here, and simply stunned at the results last night. The last time I was stunned like that was 2004 when the early Kerry-Edwards lead evaporated, along with hope for the next 4 years.
Here's what I see might happen from my perch up here:
If Hillary carries this, I believe an opportunity will open up on the Left with the Green Party (perhaps with Cynthia McKinney), and on the Right with a possible independent run by Ron Paul. For the genuine Left, Hillary is anathema, just as Bill was for his neoliberal corporate triangulation/strangulation of the country with an array of free trade agreements and hawkish policies. Most commentators here seem not to have given much thought to a four or even possibly five-cornered contest (if Bloomberg throws in) for the presidency developing, but I think the chances are much greater with a Hillary vs McCain (or other warmonger) contest, than with Obama who would take up much of the anti-war slack.
If Obama wins the nomination, and subsequently gets blasted with ugly attacks hinting at his perceived Muslim heritage and his race, you will see global repercussions, reifying the image that the US is at war with the entire Muslim World, and that a good portion of its population is racist, homicidal, and believes that the "only good Muslim is a dead Muslim."
If he loses, there might even be a explosive situation with America's last chance at redeeming itself and living up to its promise dashed, and its basest instincts bared for the world to see. If he wins, America will have earned enormous moral prestige, which unfortunately depending on the path Obama chooses may be used to restore the American Empire's fortunes, and relegitimize the globalization project.
Anyways, 2008 will be a pivotal year for the world as a whole on many many fronts, from global climate change to the potential for escalating global war. I'm hoping for some pleasant surprises, but opportunities for fresh paths are greater for some scenarios than others.