President Barack Obama
The crowd in Grant Park - scene of one of the most bruising chapters in recent US political history, the Chicago riots of 1968 - stood rapt, says Jonathan Freedland. They listened as Obama seemed to steel them for a collective effort unseen since the days of FDR. That crystallised a sense that had been building about Obama in the final weeks of his campaign: that he aspires to be not just a successful politician who wins elections, but a genuine leader - ready to steer his people through an onslaught of troubles. In this speech, and with his victory, Barack Obama has drawn a line under the last eight years, ending an American era that few will mourn. For today marked nothing less than the first day of the Obama presidency. Jonathan Freedland The Guardian
Full article: Barack Obama's election victory brings a new dawn of leadership 
Alexander Cockburn: America is eager to stand tall once again
In pictures: World cheers Obama victory
The short history of the United States of America contains many fine passages but one terrible blemish, says a Times leader. The Obama campaign ended with a rally in Manassas, Virginia, close to the site of the first major battle of the civil war that split America in two on the issue that is still its greatest scar: slavery. Entire American lives passed in servitude and no single moment can truly expiate the shame. But it would be a hard heart that said no progress has been made today. It would be a hard-bitten cynic that did not allow that, 40 years after separation by skin colour was still a shameful fact of life, America today closes that chapter. By making such an eloquent claim to the future, Barack Obama has done more than anyone before him to redefine the past. Leader The Times
Full article: Barack Obama fulfills the dream
In Pictures: The history of black America
So the answer to my question turned out to be yes, America really was going to do this, writes Melanie Phillips. A historic moment indeed. The hyperbole for once is not exaggerated: this is a watershed election which changes the fate of the world. The fear however is that the world now becomes very much less safe for all of us as a result. Those of us who have looked on appalled during this most frightening of presidential elections – at the suspension of reason and its replacement by thuggery -- can only hope that the way this man governs will be very different from the profile provided by his influences, associations and record to date. It’s a faint hope – the enemies of America, freedom and the west will certainly be rejoicing today. Melanie Phillips Spectator.co.uk
Full article: Freedom now stands alone
McCain fails with honour
John McCain lost the election in a way that even his worst enemies can respect, says Ben Macintyre. This battle between black and white, youth and experience, was predicted to be one of the nastiest ever. Yet it has been among the most civilised. There was no 'Willie Horton moment', no slide into the mire of racism, no dirty tricks and no ugly smear campaign. The punches landed hard, but not below the belt. A McCain presidency would probably have been divisive, aggressive and dangerously short-lived. He is a flawed figure, but he remains a civilised politician in an age of uncivilised politics. The world is a safer, more hopeful place without John McCain in the White House; but the world is a better place for having men such as him in it. Ben Macintyre The Times
Full article: John McCain: a man who fought and lost with honour
A victory for satire
Not until Tina Fey stepped into the ring and began eviscerating the hapless Palin did the tide truly begin to turn, says Joe Queenan. Like Horatius at the bridge, like William Tell versus the Austrian invaders, like George Washington at Valley Forge, Ms Fey had come to the aid of her country at the moment her country needed her most. She serviced it with a smile. Whatever one's political orientation, there can be no denying that 2008 is the year that satire - previously, the weak stepsister of sarcasm - finally came to the fore in American political life, unleashing a tsunami of politically-charged ridicule and invective that has changed the republic forever. Joe Queenan The Guardian
Full article: How satire changed the course of history
Harlem celebrates the dawning of the age of Obama
How America has changed
This was not a landmark election because it featured exceptional candidates, writes Daniel Finkelstein. It featured exceptional candidates because it was a landmark election. America has changed. US Census Bureau figures suggest that, by 2042, white Americans will be in a minority. Karl Rove, George Bush's strategist, has long been convinced that the Republicans had to co-opt the Hispanic community or the party would suffer badly in future. Meanwhile, what one might term a mass chattering class has emerged to make a northern liberal candidate like Mr Obama viable as they had not been since Kennedy. A record number of Americans now complete high school or go to college. There are 7.3 million American millionaires, and more than half the country now considers itself middle class. Daniel Finkelstein The Times
Full article: Four reasons why America went for Obama
What they say about Barack Obama
In Brief
Let children die
Children are not priceless. In a world of limited resources, nothing is. Any money spent on saving a child is money not spent on something else, including saving other children. Above a certain price, saving a child does more harm than good; the money would be better spent on something else. Jamie Whyte The Times
Full article: A perfect day to blow up the nanny state
Behave or else
It would not occur to a Russian leader or a Chinese, Indian, Brazilian or Turk to use the phrase "We must not allow Congo..." They would never tell Africans to behave "or else". They might do something, such as build a dam or sell a weapon, but they do not presume to hector. They know it is counter-productive. Simon Jenkins The Guardian
Full article: This gunboat oratory over Congo is futile, cruel bravado
Tipping point
Surely if there's any point at all in being ruled by left-leaning centrists who really like eating out, it's that they negotiate a fair deal for waiting staff? Sadly not - restaurants are still allowed to pay their staff a basic salary that is below the minimum wage and make up the rest in service charge. Zoe Williams The Guardian
Full article: The point about tipping
Jeremy Clarkson
My real problem with Top Gear isn't Jeremy Clarkson's loud shirts or his contrived blimpishness, but the studio interludes where three self-satisfied middle-aged chaps pretend they are chat-show hosts. I accept that millions watch Clarkson because he embodies the mind-numbing ordinariness you get in every pub, and that's why I spend very little time in public bars. Janet Street-Porter The Independent
Full article: Two dinosaurs, two outdated world-views
Will they clone Hitler?
Human cloning would be open to all kinds of abuse. Will some demented faction attempt to clone Stalin from beyond the grave, or perhaps even Hitler, a fragment of whose skull went on display in a Russian museum eight years ago. Scientists will claim that human cloning is at the forefront of our battle to tackle disease and suffering. In other words, they will scare the opposition into silence. AN Wilson Daily Mail
Full article: We owe much to scientists but we mustn't allow life to become a mere plaything to show off their cleverness
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