Change Has Come! Congratulations to Barack Obama and the American People

We celebrate an historic moment, a moment where the promise of change is made reality with the person of Barack Obama becoming the next president of the United States. Change has come to America and the world. Obama embodies his own change, and his election inspires millions of people all across the world. This is a moment of global ecstasy, that unites the people in the slums of Africa with French intellectuals and the people in the gettho’s of Detroit.

Obama’s campaign has been a strong proof of the possible impact of working from the grassroots; and I hope the connection to these grassroots will be there in the White House in the coming years. What I admired in the campaign was a consistent and strong will to keep on a positive track, while both Hillary Clinton and John McCain choose to take smears and dirt into the run. It is remarkable that while they both had serious problems to keep their campaign on track, they doubted their opponents quality to lead.

Obama not only understood how to organize a historically strong campaign, he also understood how to combine psychology, cultural expression and spirituality with marketing tactics and new media. His whole mediagenic setting, from the smart use of we2.0 to mass events like the speech in Berlin, where embedded with a positive, spiritual vision. This setting made him transform into a messianic figure, with a constant preach that it is about you, and your ability to change things, hilarious sentences like “we are the ones we have been waiting for”, and a deeply empowering message supported with slogans like “yes we can”.

It is not an easy time to become president, and there is a chance that much of the strong “Mandela vibe” will turn down after a few years of presidency. Obama might not be Gandhi. But already his presence makes a difference. After eight years Bush administration, choosing a young, progressive, idealistic black man as president is a good revenge. Bush time is over, and let’s celebrate the mental impact!

For our planet, it is to hope that Obama will choose to take a leading role in creating new alliances to save our climate. It is not impossible that he’ll use a next disaster to start a “war on climate change”, just like Bush used 9/11 to push through his policies. But most likely, we’ll have a soft hand at office here, and again, the change will have to come from the bottom up. There might come moments that we will not be so happy with this president any more. But let’s hope he keeps his promise to listen and that he will stay connected to the grassroots that helped him get elected. Because hope is what shaped this election.

Congratulations, Barack. Congratulations, America. Congratulations, world!