Now that the electoral college has posted a 333-145 victory for Obama over McCain, I think its safe to say that this election, one of the most hotly-followed in the history of the United States, has reached its end with victory for Obama, 44th President of the United States of America. I myself started as an Obama supporter but got increasingly jaded throughout the campaign after listening to certain of his policies and measures. John McCain however, did not feel me with confidence either. Now that the election is over, I shall use my limited international relations and politics knowledge to somewhat predict in simple terms what this means for America.

1) Greater Acceptance amongst the world. Let's be fair. The world loves Obama. He has won them over with his charisma, confidence, riding on his campaign of change. Polls, surveys, etc taken by newscasters and serious newspapers worldwide have mentioned that if all 6 billion of the world could vote for the job of the most powerful man on Earth, Obama would have won by a landslide. So, I predict greater acceptance of America in the first few years of the Presidency. Now this is important for America, as Bush basically screwed America's image in just about every country/every NGO's eyes with his dominant and take-it-or-I'll-crush-you foreign policy. Countries now see the USA in a different light again. Factors include Obama's mixed heritage. Indonesians clamour for the time he studied in Indonesia, Kenyans refer to him as a 'son of the soil' while Middle-Eastern Arabs take notice of his middle name, Hussein. It's hard not to like him and the USA he leads, so greater acceptance of America seems to be the norm, at least for the first few months.

2) Israel's problems will still remain and will seemingly tarnish Obama's image of change. The USA's unilateral support for Israel and their destructive campaign against the Palestinians has been a hallmark of USA foreign policy for decades and has caused much unhappiness amongst the world at large, especially the Middle East. Obama, despite his clamour for change, has stuck to the same policy, promising neverending support for Israel, and emphasizing the close ties between Israel and the USA. Israel's increasingly aggressive foreign policy against the Palestinians and their wanton destruction of Palestinian homes and farms is unlikely to add any points for President Obama's image if he is to continue support for Israel rather than act as a neutral mediator for Israeli-Palestinian peace in the Roadmap to Peace programme started by his predecessors.

3) The Economy. I'm not an economist, so I can't really predict what would happen to the economy as per Obama's programme as compared to McCain's programme. And after reading both websites, I realized that their economic programmes used a lot of American economic jargon that is unfortunately, somewhat over my head. But from what I know, Obama is for greater intervention in economic markets, tax cuts for the middle-class and increased taxes for big companies, as well as greater regulation of free trade, plus investment into alternative sources of energy. Well, as an economics student whom has seen the collaspe of free markets worldwide recently and one who always had doubts about the free market system, I believe that Obama's programme would bring some stability to the American economy, and his plan to cut the trade deficit, etc seems sound and reasonable. However, he would have to win reelection, as many of his programmes are far too ambitious to be successful in just one term.

4) Foreign Policy. This, has in recent years, been on the war on terror and rogue states. Obama's stance is greater forces in Afganistan to help the ailing Northen Alliance against the Taliban, withdrawal from Iraq, and greater means of diplomacy with rogue states like Iran and North Korea. For Obama, this means more diplomacy and pressure in the form of international isolation and sanctions rather than military presence, combined with diplomacy. I can see some benefits here, as Obama has chosen not to take the Bush-Cheney stance in foreign policy, which was a "America-is-holier-than-thou" approach which basically screwed America's image in most of the world. A greater willingness to talk is definitely positive, though whether it will yield results remains to be seen.

5) Social Issues. This refers to anything like stem cell research, conservatism, abortion, gun control laws, etc. I'm not from America, so I am unfamiliar with what it feels like to own a gun, but from reading stories in America and rules and regulations on gun control, I do believe that stricter gun-control laws are needed, etc. As for abortion, I'm definitely pro-choice. The pro-lifers that I have discussed this issue with have often argued that hey, its unethical, immoral to kill a baby without giving it a chance to live. I say, it is even more immoral if you force a mother to give birth, adding to her economic woes, and forcing the baby to live a hard life. This is especially so if the mother is poor, or the baby deformed. Are you saying that forcing people to bring a deformed baby into this world, let it get laughed at, mocked, ridiculed and even abused and made to suffer is moral and ethcial? I cannot agree with that position. I'm pro choice. So, of course Obama's victory will change the social debate on these issues once again.

All in all, I have said Obama would win from the time he sought Party Nomination, and now he has really won. Congrats, and do let us see that you can carry out Change that we can Believe In.

P.S McCain, a good fight but and I applaud your concessionary speech after the results were in. Most impressive and respectful.