President elect Barack Obama? Pinch me. I would swear that this is but a dream.

This year has demonstrated that a woman, an American Indian, a Black man, a Black woman, an hispanic... it doesn't matter anymore.

This election means a lot to me.

Yes we can :) AMAZING!

The USA are fucking awesome.

A big 'Thank You', from Europe

cries a bit

Yes we can Jill...

Me too, crying a bit...

Thank you, Europe. for joining in the celebration.

All hail the chief!

I'm actually happy about US politics...for the first time in many, many, many, many years....wait a second...for the first time ever!

Damn I feel good!

... like I knew that I would!

When I first saw the Obama slogan 'hope' it really seemed like a simple meaningless campaign slogan.

In retrospect I think Nicolas Sarkozy made sense of it to me when he commented on the election results. He said it gave other countries hope that America made this decision. the same way it gives minorities hope, and democrats hope. That Americans always end up making the right "change" the world needs.
I wonder if their campaign really came about those words thinking of that.

I am a sap about all this, I missed a lot of it working, but am watching everything now, late at night.

Thanks to all of you unknowns on the blog for getting me through the election.

And all it took to elect Obama was a financial crisis the likes of which we haven't seen since 1929 and the fact that we are in up to our eyeballs in two hopeless and expensive wars. It makes me want to go door-to-door and hit everyone who voted Republican with a rubber chicken. I think that my Spanish friends here are happier about the outcome than I—if that is possible. I am very happy.

Now comes the really hard part: fixing everything Bush has completely fucked up.

I still remember the headline in The Onion after the 2000 election: America's 8 Year Nightmare of Peace and Prosperity is Finally Over. I wonder what headline they will write for this one.

Well done America.

Yes You Can.

Congratulations!

Charles is cautiously ECSTATIC!

In the spirit of the times, can someone invite him back please.

JoAnn & America, the whole world is celebrating with you.

How long till inauguration day?

I know that endorsement from a foreigner does a candidate more harm than good... so now that the election's in the bag, I'm proud and glad to say that this is the best thing to happen in years.

Thank you, America, for choosing hope over fear and loathing.

Thank you, Norm, for providing me with my best source of the bigger picture on US politics over the last 3 years.

Peter Thomas Australia

Congrats from Sweden!

I lived in America (RI) when Bush got elected both times, both times it felt like the campaigns were about superficial issues and pleasing the base. And there was a sense of collective failure in every American I knew back in 2004.

This time it was different, there are real issues at hand, and the vote shows maturity in the Amrican society. The excitement is very strong, congratulations.

But listen top Obama's words, he talks about sacrifice which I think is key, keep talking about the real issues, keep working on them. I hope this is the start of a new chapter in participatory democracy.

from Europe with hope!

YESSS!!!! thank you. thank you all. norm and 1GM peeps, you've informed and inspired and challenged me in the last few years, and today i am happy and not just a little relieved. you rock.

We took back our country finally.

That is all.

[Now comes the hard work of rebuilding the smoldering mess the Republicans made of it all.]

I stayed up till 5 am GMT to see the result, and I am so glad I did. Thank you, America, for doing the right thing.

But just one note of caution amid the celebration - this is not the end! I was a member of the British Labour Party in 1997 when "things could only get better" and we then had 10 years of a leader who had managed to remove the Tories from power, only to (largely) replace them with a clone who followed GWB into Iraq and caused many members (including myself) to leave the Party. I don't think anything similar WILL happen in the USA, but beware of thinking that to remove the Bush Doctrine is to solve the problem.

But, again, THANK YOU - from almost all of the rest of the world.

Congratulations America, from a Canadian living in Korea. I feel happy, and also a breath of relief. I hope Obama sticks to his guns on the ideals he campaigned with. Thanks 1gm and Norm. Now I'm really curious to see what 1gm, Daily Show, Colbert, and Bill Mahar will do. I imagine that the Bill O's and Limbaughs will still be shooting off their mouths and someone will still have to voice the other side. I wonder if Olberman will know what to do with himself without Bush to rail at.

It was an absolutely amazing night.

Finally a real victory.

Gracias USA!!!!! from Argentina and the whole America.

It's just amazing. The excitement and euphoria that is crackling around the ENTIRE WORLD is...my god, it's beyond superlative.

President-elect Barack Obama - if he accomplishes only 1/5 of what he'd like, it will still be a remarkable achievment given the plundering this country has endured under Bush the last 8 years.

I am also happy to report that Michigan voters issued a giant 'fuck you' to the religious-right and passed medical marijuana and stem-cell research ballot initiatives.

This is such an exciting time in history. Everyone is engaged & participating peacefully in the democratic process. We should all be proud.

And American back-packers can stop putting Canadian flags on their packs and start proudly displaying the Stars and Stripes once again.

Happy days are here again...

Wow I really almost cried last night, but we should remember this is just the beginning, and we cant celebrate before any of the real hard work is done.

Thanks to all of you unknowns on the blog for getting me through the election.

Ditto (including you, k.).

If anyone is still reading this thread: I have never seen anything like what happened last night after the election was called. It was as though the U.S. won the world cup and was one of those European countries that gives a shit about soccer. I was in a bar in the East Village of Manhattan, and went outside to see the streets flooded with people; complete strangers were hugging one another on the street; some shouting, some crying, and then, spontaneously, everyone around on that block began singing the national anthem together; people were sighing not "He won!" or "He beat'em", but "We did it." It is something tremendously hard to describe without giving the misleading impression of sentimentality. Nothing had changed and yet something momentous had just occurred that we all recognized and felt. I cannot recall ever seeing such a public act of recognition, however minimal, of where we had been and of what had just happened, for which, I guess, we had no words but the national anthem.

From this you might suppose, well, OK, dude your living in one of the most liberal cities in one of the most liberal states in the country. Yeah. But I texted friends in other cities who reported similar things. Did anyone have a similar experience or just one they'd like to share?

Wholly shit! It's on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRQN5A0Gho8

I live in Vancouver, I wish I had been somewhere more exciting, but was stuck working in the ER most of the day, CNN was on in the staff room and everyone wanted Obama, everyone was checking back to see if the results were in.

I eventually got out of there and went to my friends art opening with no other Yanks. CNN had just announced Obama as the winner and everyone congratulated me as if my one vote somehow made the difference. Funny to be personally thanked for something the US has done, rather than the usual expat experience of explaining how Americans are not all a bunch of intolerant bullies.

Time to buy a US flag and have an American thanksgiving party.

Once again, thanks to all of you.

Adam,

Since you were wondering, here's a thread from Ze Frank's blog -since you're a felllow New Yorker - that fills your bill. There are a few bitter pills, but mostly good vibes from all over the country and elsewhere.