Barack Obama's Tuesday victory in Montana, and subsequent clinching of the Democratic Party's nomination, has captured attention and raised the hopes of people around the globe--in some cases for the candidate himself, while others look forward with renewed energy towards George W. Bush's departure from the world stage.
The Republican Party is quick to remind voters that the world looks to America. But conservatives--take note! The world is weary of McSame. In his speech on Tuesday night, Obama acknowledged that he is indeed seeking to lead "the last, best hope on Earth."
The Standard reports on the level of excitement in Kenya:
Congratulatory messages continued to pour to The Standard newsroom from Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa and even Moyale, with Kenyans wishing the Illinois senator the ultimate victory in the November election.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were not left behind. In a statement from Arusha, President Kibaki congratulated Obama, saying the victory was a manifestation of the faith and confidence the Democratic membership had in his leadership.
A sampling of headlines, bylines and punchlines from dailies the world over awaits you in the extended entry...
Barack Obama has already made history as the first black American to become his party's presumptive nominee for president in the 230-year history of the US.
That is reason enough for America to celebrate. In this one personal success story, America can tentatively claim it has moved beyond its shameful past of slavery and racism and has concrete proof of racial equality.
The "skinny black guy from the south side of Chicago" as Obama likes to call himself, embodies what many Americans want for their country: he's a successful bi-racial man, who walks with ease in black and white communities. He's a man who values faith and family and who is a genuinely good guy, according to those who know him well.
Barack Obama's triumph over Hillary Clinton triggered jubilation among his relatives in Kenya and hope among people around the world.
Many expressed optimism yesterday that a November victory by Mr. Obama, who has relatives in Africa and childhood friends in Asia, would mark a major shift from the deeply unpopular policies of the Bush administration.
In securing the delegates needed to lock up the nomination on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Beijing time), Obama completed one of the most remarkable US political campaigns.
A first-term senator, unknown nationally four years ago, Obama toppled one of the US' most powerful political families. Clinton, seeking to become the first female president, had long been seen as the inevitable nominee.
Obama's nomination is also a milestone for a nation where racial discrimination was widespread even a few decades ago and many African-Americans had to fight just for the right to vote.
To say that Europeans will welcome President George Bush on his farewell visit to Europe next week would invite a charge of verb-abuse. Welcome is hardly the word. But they will be glad to see the back of him.
We Europeans - and Canadians, Australians, Indians and other small "d" democrats around the word - should not be scared by any of this, but we should be prepared...and we can not count on Obama winning. After the rough ride with Bush, prepare for a rough ride.
It was in that same summer, on August 4 1961, that Barack Obama was born. Little "Barry", as he preferred being called as a kid in order to fit in a little better, watched the events of the 1960s - the progress, the riots, Martin Luther King's assassination and the rest - from the safe and integrated remove of Honolulu, Hawaii. He couldn't have imagined that he would one day represent a fulfillment of all the things those students who boarded those buses wanted to change about America. But the fact that the US has gone in less than 50 years from firebombed buses to an African-American being the nominee of a major party for the presidency is really staggering.
In securing the delegates needed to lock up the nomination Tuesday, Obama completed one of the most remarkable U.S. political campaigns in memory. A first-term senator, unknown nationally four years ago, Obama toppled one of America's most powerful political families. Clinton, seeking to become the first female president, had long been seen as the inevitable nominee.
Congratulatory messages continued to pour to The Standard newsroom from Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa, Garissa and even Moyale, with Kenyans wishing the Illinois senator the ultimate victory in the November election.
President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were not left behind. In a statement from Arusha, President Kibaki congratulated Obama, saying the victory was a manifestation of the faith and confidence the Democratic membership had in his leadership.
In St. Paul Minnesota, the site of the upcoming Republican Convention, Senator Obama made a victory speech declaring that he had become the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. Some highlights from a very stirring speech:
"America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.
As Barack Obama wakes this morning, bearing the mantle of the Democratic Party's electoral hopes, he faces a greater challenge: that of becoming the United States' first black president.
It was, as nearly everyone among the thousands of jubilant supporters recognised, a little slice of history.
Obama's appearance here tonight was far more than a victory rally of a winning candidate. Several people in the crowd said they were moved by the sense of history about the occasion -- and by Obama's promise of change.
Senator Barack Obama made history on Tuesday, capturing the Democratic White House nomination as the first black candidate atop a major-party ticket, after a giant-slaying win over Senator Hillary Clinton.
Obama rocketed from political obscurity to become the first black to win the presidential nomination of a major US party.
Obama will be crowned the Democratic nominee at the convention in August and will face McCain in November's election to choose a successor to President George W. Bush.
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