Gerard Baker of the the London Times asks Can Obama make American dream come true?:
“Every American child learns at a parent’s knee the most fundamental of truths about their country. Anyone can grow up to be president of the United States. It is the essence of the nation’s republican ideal, the meritocratic belief at the core of its organising principle. It is also, at least empirically speaking, complete balderdash.
In 220 years a country that has steadily multiplied in diversity, where ethnic minorities and women have risen to the very highest positions in so many fields of human life, has chosen a succession of 42 white men as its leader. For good measure, the vice-presidency, the only other nationally directly elected position in the US government, has been held by a succession of 46 white males
But last night, in a tumultuous break with this long history, the ultimate realisation of the American dream moved a little closer, and a black man became his party’s nominee for the presidency. “
(Incidentally, Baker’s the only one who called out BHO’s reference to Hillary’s involvement in future universal healthcare legislation for what it is - an admission that he isn’t thinking of offering her the Veep nomination)
Canada’s The Globe and Mail says Clinton’s narcissism cost her the victory:
Entitlement is a dangerous and inexcusable characteristic in any candidate. No individual, even one as talented and as well-connected as Ms. Clinton, is entitled to lead his or her country; to do so is an enormous privilege and responsibility that must be earned. In democratic countries, few dynasties will be sustained in the absence of humility.
The editorial board of The Age (Australia), believes Obama has already made history:
Senator Obama was raised by his mother and grandmother, and in earlier stages of his political career had to endure whispers in some quarters that somehow his upbringing and life experience had made him more white than black. Apart from being in themselves racist, such taunts miss the point: Barack Hussein Obama chose to identify with black Americans and their aspirations, while also presenting himself as a candidate who can offer Americans a new beginning by transcending their racial divisions. And in the nomination battle that has just ended, he stayed on that message, despite great provocation from those who chose to exploit the fears of the working-class whites who comprise the Democrats’ core constituency.
But the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette says Senator Obama demonstrated his “deaf ear for the past” in choosing to give his victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota:
He has always seemed less interested in the American past, except perhaps as a rich source of grievance. So he might not have appreciated the historic vibes of the site in beautiful downtown St. Paul, which is where Walter Mondale delivered his concession speech after one of the most lopsided defeats in the history of American presidential elections — Ronald Reagan’s 49-state sweep in 1984…Unhappily, in matters historical he does seem remarkably tone-deaf. For his last hurrah of the primary season, he chose a place associated with one of his party’s great defeats. It’s as if admirers of George Armstrong Custer were to gather at Little Bighorn, aka Custer’s Last Stand, to proclaim victory.
Well, not everyone’s totally in the tank, it seems.
