The US presidential election finally ends on Tuesday and Obama will win decisively on Tuesday if the polls are correct. Other than widespread voter fraud or some other castrophic event, Barack Obama will be America's first black president.
The United States economy is in ruin, its military demoralized from losses in Iraq, and most importantly its global reputation hit rock bottom under Bush. There couldn't have been a better time for the US to elect a President who wants to make change. Obama's oratory skills, his youth, and his background of working for the underdog give him the skills and values to face this challenge.
Many in Canada and around the world have started to give up the United States. In Canada the US housing crisis was ignored because of our strong oil reserves and we thought economic peril wouldn't spread to Canada. Europeans have a new currency and through economic cooperation they believed they could strive economically regardless of what was happening in the US. Before the financial crisis, Iceland was considered the most autonomous nation on Earth because it doesn't need trade with its vast thermal pools that heat the entire country.
When the global financial crisis hit it proved how interconnected the world is. Every nation in the world can have the most strict financial standards, abundant energy supplies, and numerous trade partners but they still can't escape this crisis. Global mutual funds and transnational companies are dependent on global stability. When there is global instability the world can tilt towards a global recession. When the world's largest economy pludges into economic disarray we all go down.
Right-wing politicians have hijacked America and reinforced irresponsible behaviour that threaten it's global dominance. Massive tax cuts, huge deficits, limitless military spending, and inadequate social development programs are the values the republicans have implemented. As a result, the US has a record deficit and there wasn't even a clear plan to recover because the bottom fell out. Americans didn't just allow their government to practice irresponsible economic behaviour but personally they racked up credit card debts and bought mortgages they couldn't afford. Still even today americans have failed to take personal responsibility for their economic distress and are trying to pin the blame on the financial institutions that were equally foolish by giving them loans.
Obama is not a miracle worker but he has the ability to trigger a global miracle. Words matter and Obama can use his greatest asset to motivate his nation. America needs a leader that will give them what they need and what they want. America needs a leader that will inspire them and be a positive image of America when travelling abroad. Also, the next leader must tell Americans they must act more economically and ecologically responsible. Americans must act more responsibly personally and must accept the fact that if that the federal government must have the power to improve their country. In order to provide essential services without plunging into debt, taxes are necessary. Elections shouldn't be a game about which candidate will lower taxes the furthest but instead which candidate has the best ideas. This election- Obama is that candidate.
