The election of Barack Obama as the 44th American president and the first black man to be on the White House ‘throne’ is very historic. Similarly, it reinforces the optimism the American citizens and the entire world has on changing the previous Administration’s foreign policy.

In the first instance, it is the realisation of the dream which was had by the most renowned freedom-fighter in the history of the black race Martin Luther King Jnr. Prior to his struggles; black Americans were mal-treated, underrated and considered as third class citizens to the extent that they were denied some seats in public transports because the seats were reserved for white Americans. This segregation led to the boycott of public transports by black Americans in 1957. But today, the charismatic president is the number one citizen in the United States.

Furthermore, America and the entire world look forward with optimism for ‘change’. The Bush administration foreign policy prioritised war, regardless of the lost of innocent lives of people including women and children in a number of countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, the policy had no concern for the billions of dollars that is being spent in these wasteful ventures.

As well as this, the election had begun to serve as a model to the third world democracies. This is evident in Ghana where for instance, the opposition National Democratic Party’s Candidate John Attah Mills, defeated the ruling New Patriotic Party’s candidate Nana Akufo- Addo. The election was lauded by international observers as peaceful, free and fair. With the inauguration – which occurred Tuesday 20th January, the world look forward to seeing positive changes and enhanced diplomatic ties between the United States and the international community.

Spending this summer in a strange land with incomprehensible accents, strange customs and great quantities of intriguing food I discovered a country with an innocent naivety about the outside world. I was of course in America. My time was split between the biggest cities in the US, including New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I was both excited and terrified in equal measure by every place I went, but was never alone, comfortably accompanied by a gaggle of wide-eyed Brits at all times.
It was hardly surprising that much of what we encountered revolved around the general election between Barack Obama and John McCain. I was in the US in 2004 during the run up to the election between George W. Bush and John Kerry, but this election feels completely different to that one. Barack Obama has ‘rallied the troops’ in many ways and all around America you seen street stalls selling Obama merchandise. He has definitely got people excited about politics and I include myself amongst his admirers.
One of the things that I probably won’t get used to any time soon is the habit that some Americans have of overhearing you speaking, and then sparking up a conversation based on my nationality. In some ways I find it endearing and will go along with it, but it is something you don’t really experience in other countries. The real truth is that Americans don’t really travel outside of their own country as much as other nationalities do. When we were staying in a youth hostel in San Francisco we met a group of people from Lawrence, Kansas. They were very friendly and older than us but I was somewhat taken aback by the fact that one of them, until coming to San Francisco, had never seen the sea.
Whilst on a fishing trip off of the Californian coast (and feeling so very, very seasick) I got talking to the man next to me. He told me not to judge America based on one place, and that you can go 50 miles up the coast and everything is different. He was right, but I was too busy being sick to appreciate it at the time.

Chris Aikman

Philadelphia city, the largest in the state of Pennsylvania is often referred to as the founding Birthplace of America, or more recently the City of Brotherly Love. It has around about 1.4 million residents according to the 2005 census. Yet, it seems somewhat closer, and tight-knit. Its nickname lies more in its history, with it once being integral to the British Empire and the social centre of all 13 colonies in British America. Philly as it is known affectionately, is still important in the present day, but in the past was home to the American Revolution and American Independence. Politically, today the city is largely Democratic, with over 75% of voters are registered as such and in the last election John Kerry gained 80% of the votes.

The Liberty Bell, which is almost as well known in the US as Mount Rushmore, is the most important historic monument in the city and symbolizes freedom. It still stands as a constant reminder to the city’s past, as well as its present. A densely populated city, you are never short of somebody to talk to or somewhere to visit. It is covered in various museums and one the best universities, the University of Pennsylvania, which is one of the founding Ivy League colleges. It has, unusually for a college in its position, a strong record of encouraging free speech, seemingly continuing the political and social traditions of the city.

Washington, on the other hand, certainly has the ambience of a capital, that of a knowledgeable, wise city. In fact President Lincoln wanted it to be an ‘American Paris’. A simple walk beneath its iconic monuments induces political inclinations, just by breathing the same air as the country’s leading senators and decision makers. Whether stepping into a coffee shop or a steakhouse, you instantly feel part of an intense environment. The White House is pristine in its glory, as is the Capitol Building, the Pentagon and the Washington Monument. Incidentally, the latter is the tallest building in the city; legally nothing can be built higher than it. All these buildings stand separated from the city; set serenely away from the hectic pace. Lincoln’s statue too, casts a watchful eye over the city, and seems to bring a small amount of tranquility to an otherwise busy rushed place.

Despite the difference in both cities, they seem interlinked somehow, as they both carry on a history of America’s past and present. Hopefully after the next set of elections, Washington will become part of its future too.

Chandrima Ghosh