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.

Obama, 47, and his vice-presidential running mate, Joe Biden, won in an electoral college landslide, seizing the swing states of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, New Mexico, Iowa and Virginia.

Talking to an ecstatic crowd in his home town, Obama said ‘if there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.’

McCain conceded defeat to Obama gracefully by announcing to a crowd of shocked Republican supporters ‘my friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken.’

This election is argubaly the most historic of all the elections in United States history as it is the first time a black man has been elected to be president. Fears that many white voters would fail, in the privacy of the polling booth, to vote for a black candidate appeared to be unfounded, suggesting that race is becoming less of an issue in the US.

This fact needs to be set alongside the very great realities of his achievement. Obama put it succinctly in his own victory speech in Chicago: ‘It’s been a long time coming.’ Obama has done what no Democrat has done since Lyndon Johnson nearly half a century ago. He has captured the White House by winning both the majority of the popular vote and by winning an overwhelming victory in the electoral college.

Obama also had a message for those of us in the UK and the rest of the world – ‘to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.’