BRITAIN

BRITAIN

The Independent, London, Jan. 20: The long transition between an American election and the inauguration means that the actual import of the occasion can all too easily be taken for granted. Not this year. The excitement that has been mounting in Washington since the night of 4 November has radiated not only across the United States, but around the world.

Last taboo broken

An America that had been sharply divided along ideological lines through the Clinton years, and then again as a result of George Bush’s disputed victory of 2000, elected Barack Obama by a landslide.

As the first black — strictly speaking, mixed race — man to be elected to the highest office in the land, he has broken what could be regarded as America’s last taboo, almost a century and a half after Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery. That this was even conceivable, let alone possible, says a great deal about Mr. Obama, but just as much about what is most admirable in the United States.

JORDAN

Jordan Times, Amman, Jan. 21: The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States marks a milestone in U.S. history. And could be a lesson for many developed countries around the world.

Born to a Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas, Obama overcame many — including racial — hurdles to win the hearts and minds of not only his countrymen but also of millions of people from the four corners of the world.

His journey to the White House was long and difficult, but his perseverance and deep conviction that his nation is due for a change enabled him to win the race.

Change needed

There is need to change the way the U.S. conducts itself vis- -vis the international community. George Bush and his administration broke the promise to come to the rescue, especially, of people that are still denied freedom and self-determination rescue or of those living in abject poverty and deprivation.