US election: The world reacts

People around the world voice their hopes and expectations as Americans go to the polls.

US votes

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Americans around the world are voting and following the US election [EPA]

Rarely has an US election so excited and captured the imagination of the rest of the world.

As Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democratic and Republican presidential canditates respectively, prepare for the final vote tally, Al Jazeera readers and viewers from around the world voice their hopes, fears and outlook on the election. 

Paul, Canada – via Livestation

I’m from Canada, so the election is very important here, almost more important in the long run than our own elections sadly enough.

Patrick, Norway – via Livestation

If Obama wins there is a great chance he will stay in office for eight years. But the same is not true for McCain, given his age and health issues.

Amy, US – via Feedback email

 
It truly will not matter which candidate will win. Both will break every promise of helping the American economy.

Both will continue to spill war and blood across the Middle East. While right now many Americans feel there will be “change” for this country, this is only an illusion that so many are blind to see.

It is very sad, that the country I live in will continue to make the same mistakes. And many more will continue to suffer.

Sad.

Dave, US – via Livestation

The Republicans accused Barack Obama of being socialist to try and shake him and have to defend his comments. In the rest of the world people would be like “so?”

Chris, UK – via Livestation

Obama is fresh, young and appears to be someone you can trust.

McCain reminds me of Bush, Blair and Brown.

Patrick, Norway – via Livestation

The thing that saddens me, being a Norwegian, is that there are only two dominant parties in the US. 

Sarah, Virginia, US – via Your Views

Personally, I am a high school student who is concerned about the economy, but it can’t be the only solution for the world.

We are not only voting for the next US president but we are also deciding the world’s leader.
 
There are so many challenges for the next president but he will make important decisions that effect everyone. Therefore, the next president will have to understand something when they represent America.

I value Obama for his strategies and decisions, which are wise.
 
I am happy that many youth are taking part in this historical election, which is itself a change in America.

I’m sure Americans can make wise decisions. I hope, with Almighty God being beside him, he will win.

Chris, UK – via Livestation

The financial situation seems to be the talk of the election. I still don’t quite understand who has the better plan.

Salvatore R. DeBlasi, US – via Feedback email

McCain will win and the GOP will control both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  

Andy, US – via Livestation

Obama has no real plan for the economy.

Mohamed Nabil, Algeria – via Your Views

I am ready for a long night with you and I cancelled all that I have to do tomorrow just to watch this election night.

This is D-Day, I have been waiting for this day since January 3, the first primary in Iowa.

Come on, Obama!

Santa, London, UK – via Livestation

I feel sorry for the winner who won’t be able to do anything with a national debt of  more than $11.5 trillion.

Valdemar Fog, Copenhagen, Denmark – via Your Views

I honestly believe the US has an opportunity to change its badly-damaged reputation abroad this time around.

What Americans need to realise is that their entire foundation of power is trembling, and that they need to correct their ways before it’s too late.

If John McCain wins this election, the US will be stuck as the rest of the world moves forward.

If not for the good of the world then at least in the interest of self-preservation and progress, you need change.

Shafiq, Bangladesh – via Feedback email

If Obama wants to restore America’s image in the world he has a lot of work to do on foreign policy. Real change is needed in attitudes towards the Muslim world.

The US must be a fair broker in the Israel-Palestine issue. The Iraq/Afghan wars must be abandoned and the so-called ‘war on terror’ must be stopped.

Guantanamo and other ghost prisons must be closed. He must start dialogue with Syria, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. He must distance himself completely from Bush’s failed policies and start a new chapter.

Let us hope.

Vega, US – via Livestation

I think Obama will win. If he wins Virginia and Pennsylvania, it is pretty much over. 

Shesharoo, US – via YouTube

Obama is going to win and hopefully change America’s view of the world.

Connie, US – via Feedback email

Obama has mesmerised his followers with promises to “share the wealth”. This is a communist ideal and isnt going over well with many here, even those that would supposedly benefit. America has been prosperous for anyone willing to work hard, which is why many come here and many others hate us.

Ironically, there is no way Obama could fund all the promises he has made. Jobs will be lost due to higher taxes and e will be headed for a recession akin to Jimmy Carters legacy.

God be with us.

Kyle, Texas, US – via Livestation

Why does the rest of the world think things will magically change if Obama is elected. The president is the enforcer … nothing more

George Cleever, Canada – via Feedback email

I hope you Americans are a lot smarter than we Canadians. Obama is one of the world’s only chances left, if we are to survive another generation. Truly. And I hope Obama will be more pro-Palestinian after he wins. He would not have won at all without paying Israelis lip-service.

Wesak, Alaska, US – via YouTube

I thought Palin was unqualified when she was first anounced. I thought it was funny that she was even considered. But there are some die-hard Reps in Alaska.

I think Obama will win Anchorage by 70 per cent , the rest of Alaska I would guess 50-60 per cent. 

Fontaine, Afghanistan – via Feedback email

Whomever wins the US presidential election, it is grossly apparent that all of humanity will continue to lose. Preemptive war will continue unabated, Israel will rage their apartheid on Palestine, Iraq will be rocketed, and Afghanistan will be bombed into dust.

US rendition, detention, and abysmal torture will continue. So, the American upper crust will fatten their wallets and poor people everywhere will be exploited for whatever enriches corporate/special interest elite.

Sad.

Rob, UK – via YouTube

This election may be important but nowhere near as important as it could be. Obama’s empty messages of ‘change’ hardly means a thing on the world stage as they both [candidates] have expressed intentions on putting sanctions on Iran as well as heavily supporting the increasingly zionist state of Israel.

I’m English and know that we are merely puppets of America but the US will still be the most hated and feared country around the world whoever wins this election.

Rohini Prasad Tiwari, India – via Feedback email

Obama would lead the world in the right direction as president of the US. He would be a winner in the election and well restore the faith of peoples living outside the US.

Max, UK – via YouTube

I think there would be an enormous outcry if McCain did win. Then again Bush stole two elections and trashed civil rights with absolutely no consequences so maybe democracy in America really is dead.

Helen Jabra Chlala, Ghana – via Feedback email

For ALL countries all over the world, young presidents should be elected. We are fed up with old people trying to run countries amongst heart attacks and psychological disorders.

It is about time the young rule the world with their enthusiasm and fresh ideas. Let the young and active rule. Hope from all my heart that Obama wins, for the sake of everyone.

Max, Canada – via Your Views

I am an American expat working in Toronto and I voted for Obama because he has demonstrated better judgement, is not a hot head, is new blood, is more enlightened and compassionate, commands a remarkable intellect and can talk a bird out of a tree.

That said, he is at Israel’s beck and call and does not have the executive authority to implement most of what he has promised. He offers hope, but I don’t know how far that will travel with the Taliban, Wall Street or the oil/insurance/pharmacutical gangsters.

Basim Al-Madhagi, Yemen – via Feedback email

Congratulations to the American people if Mr Obama wins. Prosperity and economic recovery of the American nation will come.

 

Junse Park, San Francisco, US – via Your Views

I proudly voted for Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez for president and vice president of the United States.

Their platform most firmly stands up for the rights of Palestinians in the face of Israeli oppression. The Nader/Gonzalez ticket advocates for an end to American militarism around the globe, calls for US tax dollars to go toward a comprehensive public works programme at home (so catastrophes like Katrina will not occur), supports solar energy (not “clean coal” or nuclear or ethanol), and advocates for a single-payer health care system (public funding, private delivery).

No doubt there are those who laugh, saying that Nader/Gonzalez “can’t win”. My response is that democracy isn’t a horse race – the goal isn’t to “pick a winner”, but to pick the best candidates for the job.

My vote is a protest vote against the entrenched military and corporate elites, and it is a vote in support of the social movement that Nader & Gonzalez will spearhead after the election.

Jay, US – via Feedback email

I believe that Obama will make one of the greatest Presidents in US history.

He is very intelligent, a gifted speaker and fair-minded. He is a bi-racial (like myself also) US citizen, a Christian that was raised by white grand-parents, lived in a Muslim country, has a father that was born a Muslim from the continent of Africa.

That makes for a perfect combination of diverse influence to have the interests of everyone at heart.

Kian Shokouhi, Canada – via Feedback email

Just because Obama is black that does not automatically, mean he will come to the rescue of the poor in Harlem or elsewhere. He still has to fulfill the greedy appetite of big corporations and the wealthy first.

Let’s not forget, we are talking about the United States of America, the holy land of capitalism, where the gap between the rich and the poor is bigger than any where else in this universe.
 

Raffey, US – via Feedback email

A fundamental difference between the two candidates is that one would further the Bush doctrines while the other would bring change for the better.

The only thing standing in the way is racism/division.

Reader and viewer comments have been compiled from Al Jazeera email feedback, the Your Views section, YouTube, and Livestation, an enterprise-class peer-to-peer distribution architecture which delivers a range of live radio and television channels to users’ computers over a broadband network.

Source: Al Jazeera