As an Australian, people wonder why I care so much about US elections. Well, they matter (to paraphrase a failed past presidential candidate), and this election has mattered more than any I have been around to follow. The reasons are well covered, and Barack Obama noted most of them in his superb acceptance speech today. 

Political correctness aside, a non-white guy leading the most powerful nation (and still justified lead country of the free world) on earth is huge, and a symbolic victory for minorities everywhere. He speaks in common sense terms, has a sense of humour, and can relate to people on a level I haven’t seen before on the world stage. He’s either a really, really nice guy, or a brilliant con man. Having been vetted for the past two years, it would be surprising if the latter were true.

His victory is a defining moment in history. It has made many of us hopeful of a calmer world order, and an America we can look up to again. To see crowds in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East celebrating his victory speaks volumes about what this means for America.

Truth be told, at the start of the Democratic primaries, I wanted Hillary Clinton to succeed over Obama. I didn’t think he was ready. Well, he proved in the primaries that not only was he ready, but able to outshine an increasingly suspect Clinton as the more measured, articulate and decent candidate to take on the Republicans. It took me a while to be sold on Obama, but I am now certainly lining up for more.

Let’s hope he can keep special interest groups under control, retain his nobility (and humility) in power, and most importantly: deliver real change. 

The following fifty posts were made to Twitter over the past couple of months, in descending date order. What a campaign. What an emphatic victory. GOBAMA!!

  1. Gee. Wow. So… I guess life can resume now. Good work, America about 3 hours ago
  2. CBS calls it for Obama! F*CK! about 5 hours ago
  3. Stuck at a slow moving British Airways office while Obama takes over the world. Grr about 7 hours ago
  4. VOTE, y’all about 24 hours ago
  5. Melbourne Cup and US Election on the same day. If only they were in the same timezones, we’d have a two-for-one get-jiggy day
  6. The Economist 4 Obama: “..the exceptionally assured way in which he has run his campaign is a considerable comfort” http://snurl.com/4yoic
  7. Palin is nailin’ it in Pennsylvania at the moment. Doing her 2012 election candidacy chances no harm whatsoever… 9:30 PM Oct 31st
  8. Sadly for McCainPalin, support for Obama from real people on Twitter will probably outnumber the McCainPalin propaganda-bots 7:47 PM Oct 31st
  9. Looks like McCainPalin have hired a spam company to flood Twitter with “Vote McCain” scripts. See Twitter election tracker and hot topics 7:46 PM Oct 31st
  10. I was (expectedly) impressed by Obama on the Daily Show last night. Tho, thought he lost some composure when talking about “tree huggers” 12:10 PM Oct 31st
  11. Barack Obama on the Daily Show: candid, relaxed, with a dash of humour. Dammit America, do not screw this up. http://www.thedailyshow.com 12:31 AM Oct 31st
  12. From June, here’s “Why white supremacists support Barack Obama”.http://snurl.com/4u4u6 They also hope Obama will energise their base 2:01 PM Oct 30th
  13. Alaska’s major newspaper endorses “steady hand” Obama over “erratic” McCain, calls Palin “too risky” a VP prospect. http://snurl.com/4powe 7:49 PM Oct 26th
  14. Palin annoyed & off the leash, insider indicating she would “like to go more rogue”. Yeh, bring on raw maverickism! http://snurl.com/4pnsk 6:38 PM Oct 26th
  15. Monday’s Daily Show was brilliant. Jon Stewart at his best, some of the US at its worst. Check it out. http://www.thedailyshow.com 12:09 AM Oct 23rd
  16. Powell does a Lieberman (tho more tolerable), and endorses the opposition; Says Obama would “talk to people we haven’t talked to.” Exactly… 9:19 AM Oct 20th
  17. Sarah Palin was a good sport on SNL: http://tinyurl.com/6dr72u 4:52 PM Oct 19th
  18. The money’s on Obama, and the money is rarely wrong:http://snurl.com/4flnc Please, America, do not prove the money wrong 9:05 AM Oct 17th
  19. McCain is sounding dodgy. Obama in prime form with a nice defence of himself. Go you good thing 9:40 AM Oct 16th
  20. McCain, nothing to lose, talks crap, reckons he’ll be stoked if he can be “half as good” as Sarah Palin was in her recent debate. Crikey! 12:00 AM Oct 16th
  21. McCain “in danger not only of losing the election but of tarnishing his reputation for honour.” http://snurl.com/4a9d9 11:14 AM Oct 12th 
  22. Lame duck removes N.Korea from terror list, ball-breaking Kim JI lights a cigar, & insipid McCain gets in a tizzy: http://snurl.com/49wv5 3:00 AM Oct 12th
  23. I don’t get it. In a time of crisis, the conservative US mouthpiece endorses McCain because he’s more daring. Que? http://snurl.com/49irm 3:38 PM Oct 11th 
  24. So, Palin abused her power in Alaska. http://snurl.com/49fq7 … Imagine what she could do with all the toys in Washington 12:58 PM Oct 11th
  25. And his thoughts on Barack Obama: “Clever, healthy, handsome.” Yep, that sounds like the kind of US President the world needs 8-) 3:20 PM Oct 8th
  26. One of my local guys learns about Obama and McCain from The Daily Show. Brilliant :) “I’m worried about McCain’s health,” he says. 3:17 PM Oct 8th
  27. “McCain has moved remorselessly rightward” … The New Yorker endorses Barack Obama. http://snurl.com/41tdu
  28. Taking my Australian self to a Canadian Buddy’s place to watch the US VP debate. In China. Ahh, if only we had a vote… 8:57 AM Oct 3rd
  29. Wheels slowly misaligning on the Republican campaign just like they did for the ‘conservative’ side in Australia’s 2007 election. Good. 6:21 PM Sep 27th
  30. Now that the US presidential debate is over, we can get on with the main event of the day: The Australian Rules Football Grand Final :-D  11:02 AM Sep 27th
  31. McCain doesn’t talk like a leader who would preside over a peaceful world10:58 AM Sep 27th
  32. For a debate supposedly on US foreign policy, where was the China focus? Disappointing. 10:46 AM Sep 27th
  33. League of democracies? A good boys club? C’mon John. Kudos to Obama for reserving to right to engage at the highest level, with anyone 10:16 AM Sep 27th
  34. Yes, that’s what we need at a time of global instability: Mavericks! 9:41 AM Sep 27th
  35. This “Main Street” sounds pretty rough. Remind me not to live there 9:16 AM Sep 27th
  36. McCain can be a fluffy little puppy can’t he? 9:12 AM Sep 27th
  37. WTF, McCain does a backflip and triple somersault… bring it on? 11:30 PM Sep 26th
  38. Divide & conquer? Democrats moving to fasttrack bailout to force a Republican rebellion? Or does McCain have a silver bullet? Hard to read11:23 PM Sep 26th
  39. Ahhh McCain, you’ve done it again… 8:13 AM Sep 25th
  40. “Bush Doctrine” coiner takes on those who took on Palin for looking like a dunce re the Bush Doctrine. Hmm. http://snurl.com/3q962 10:38 PM Sep 14th
  41. On barackobama.com, you can create a “MyBO” account. Guys, seriously, what were you thinking? 8:07 PM Sep 14th
  42. Sarah Palin “… an absurdity… a joke.” http://tinyurl.com/525qut 12:52 AM Sep 13th
  43. Joe Lieberman, you’re a twat. Go away. 7:45 AM Sep 12th
  44. “As a pro-life super-achiever, puts feminists in a tizzy.” The Kooky Standard outlines Palin’s pros: http://snurl.com/3l2jv 2:39 AM Aug 30th
  45. Sarah Palin irks the crap out of me. Smart choice, though. Peh! 2:15 AM Aug 30th
  46. The Australian endorses Biden… http://tinyurl.com/5nys8d 12:04 AM Aug 26th
  47. “Realpolitik never died”: http://tinyurl.com/5tcjdo 12:53 AM Aug 14th
  48. Sullivan lays into McCain.. http://tinyurl.com/6oe563 9:47 AM Aug 3rd
  49. Good old Aussie conservative Ms. Albrechtsen takes on Obama:http://tinyurl.com/57es8k 1:10 AM Jul 16th
  50. Can someone please smack Obama and Clinton supporters into line? United we stand, divided we all get smacked with Republicans again! ARGH12:21 AM Jun 19th