Barack Obama

I was one of many New Zealanders who got up early Wednesday morning to watch Barack Obama being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. To me Obama's inauguration speech can be compared to Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a dream speech. While many journalists have analysed what his speech means in terms of policy, I thought a good idea would be to get everyone to leave a comment on what Obama's election means to them. To get the ball rolling I have included a paragraph on my thoughts on Obama's speech.

Firstly what his speech signalled was the end of an era and a new beginning. We all know what the US has been in the past, but I can't see how it can possibly carry on down that path, and fortunately this was a key theme of Obama's speech. I was impressed by his commitments to the environment, reforming the education system, and of course making progress towards a universal health care system. These of course are policies that America has long needed but what excited me the most was his commitment to being a responsible world leader by dealing with poverty issues in the world, and also his wish for peace in the Middle East. I'm excited about Obama's election and I can't wait to see what his next move is and how he will go about achieving these amazing goals.