Foreign op-ed reaction

From the Times of London.

On Tuesday night, with a countdown to precisely 10pm Chicago time, American democracy transformed in an instant not only the hopes and expectations of African Americans, but also the self-image of their country and their country’s image in the world. . .

One in 50 people on the planet voted in this election, but it was truly a global political event. This is not just because of the openness of the American electoral system and of its voters’ yearnings. It is not just because of the theatricality of the marathon campaigns, or because, despite its soaring deficits and disastrous loss of prestige in the Iraq war, the US remains the most powerful nation on earth.

The world has been fascinated and profoundly moved by this election most of all because of what America is — a nation founded on universal aspirations, and thus a mirror to humanity.