Spain’s reaction to Obama’s victory…

Now that the election in the USA has ended, I thought it might be interesting for me to write a post with what Spain’s reaction to Barack Obama’s victory has been like. As you may or may not realize, the Presidential Elections of the USA are followed quite closely in Europe and in other parts of the world because the decisions made in our country often affect those everywhere. In fact, as the election in the USA grew nearer, more and more Spaniards began to ask me who I would be voting for and what my thoughts were on the subject in general. Later, when Obama won the election, I was bombarded with questions about whether or not I think he will be good for the country and whether or not I am happy with him as president. Just as I’ve formulated my own opinions about Obama, Spaniards, of course, have formulated theirs. Here’s what many are saying. 

In general, Obama’s victory in the USA seems to have been received in a very positive way in Spain (and in most of Western Europe as well). In fact, to me, it seems as though many of the people of Spain feel as if Obama will bring a breath of “fresh air” to our country (and the world at large) by sweeping “change” through our government and enacting numerous reform plans. The day after the election, I even felt as though the people here in Spain were already looking at the USA in a sort of “new light.” By this I mean that our government was no longer associated with “Bush” and “wars” and instead had been somewhat put on a pedestal as a prime example of “dreams coming true,” “courage to overcome,” and “positive change that will fix all the world’s problems.” Sometimes I wonder if our expectations for Obama are too high.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m very happy that Obama won the election in the USA and think he absolutely was the better candidate for the job; however, I also think that we can’t forget that he has many challenges to deal with. He has an unjustified war to “clean up,” a financial crisis that is the biggest we’ve seen in a century, and a lot of promised social reform plans to initiate on American soil. He has a tough job and I hope that people don’t become disappointed with him if “change” doesn’t happen as quickly as they’d like.

I know that I have readers who visit this blog from all parts of the world and I’d be interested to know how my fellow Americans, as well as those from other countries, view Obama’s victory. Please, post your comments about the election here….

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com