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Around the world, US vote sparks buzz for change
2008-11-04
BERLIN - Throngs packed plazas and pubs around the world to await U.S. elections results Tuesday, many inspired by Barack Obama's promise of change amid a sense of relief that -- no matter who wins -- the White House is changing hands. As millions of American voters decided between Obama or John McCain, the world was abuzz, ready to bear witness to a moment of history that would reverberate well beyond American borders. "America is electing a new president, but for the Germans, for Europeans, it is electing the next world leader," said Alexander Rahr, director of the German Council on Foreign Relations. Late night projections gave Obama a lead in electoral votes over McCain, and many around the world grabbed the news -- despite the millions of votes still to be counted -- as a sign that the United States was on the verge of a historic turningpoint, politically and socially. "My image of America used to be a country run by the white people, but now it's changing," said 65-year-old taxidriver Kenji Doi, an Obama supporter, as he listened to a radio broadcast on the vote early Wednesday in Tokyo. In Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, the atmosphere was electric with pride and excitement as people flocked to all-night parties to watch election results roll in. "I'm not tired even, though I have been watching the results through the night," Josiah Otupa, 30, said early Wednesday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. "Our man is in the lead but we are still praying hard." The Irish village of Moneygall was also trying to claim Obama as a favorite son -- based on research that concluded the candidate's great-great-great grandfather, Joseph Kearney, lived there before emigrating to the United States. At Moneygall's Hayes Bar, an American flag fluttered outside window Tuesday and local band Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys played their rousing folk song "There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama." "We're not going to go mad with the drink," said Ollie Hayes, who runs the pub. "We just want to show Barack that we appreciate he's from here." Longtime McCain supporter Kay Angelis described it as "a bit lonely and a bit odd" being a Republican in France. But being in the clear minority at an election night party in Paris swarming with Obama supporters didn't dent her enthusiasm. "I appreciate experience ... And I think American voters do too," the 85-year-old said. She lamented Obama's "whirlwindy" campaign and lack of foreign policy heft and warned that whoever wins will "inherit many global conflicts -- and enemies." Scores of U.S. voters living in the Mexican state of Baja California crossed the border to cast their vote, including Roberto Chavez, 32, an engineer who has dual citizenship. "Usually I only vote in Mexican elections because I live here, but I'm going to vote in this election because I want Obama to win," he said. In Germany, where more than 200,000 people flocked to see Obama this summer as he burnished his foreign policy credentials during a trip to the Middle East and Europe, the election dominated television ticker crawls, newspaper headlines and Web sites. At an underground aquarium near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, boisterous Democrats and scattered Republicans shared tortilla chips and Cointreau cocktails, waiting for the results. French-born U.S. citizen Marielle Davis said if Obama wins, it may mean a move back to America. She left Boston in 2003 after two decades for Paris because of tension around the Iraq war. "People were pointing at me, saying 'She's French,' even my good friends," she said, recalling criticism heaped on France over its opposition to the war. Obama-mania was evident not only across Europe but also in much of the Islamic world, where Muslims expressed hope that the Democrat would seek compromise rather than confrontation. The Bush administration alienated Muslims by mistreating prisoners at its detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison -- human rights violations also condemned worldwide. Nizar al-Kortas, a columnist for Kuwait's Al-Anbaa newspaper, saw an Obama victory as "a historic step to change the image of the arrogant American administration." Yet McCain enjoyed a strong current of support in Israel, where he is perceived as tougher on Iran than Obama. Taking a cigarette break on a Jerusalem street corner, bank employee Leah Nizri, 53, favored McCain. "He's too young," she said of Obama. "I think that especially in a situation of a world recession, where things are so unclear in the world, McCain would be better than Obama." Even in Europe, McCain got some grudging respect: Germany's mass-circulation daily Bild lionized the Republican as "the War Hero" and running mate Sarah Palin as "the Beautiful Unknown." At a Berlin party, Joe Noussair of Philadelphia said claims that America's image had been tarnished had more to do with Europeans than American policy. "There's no way to please Europeans," the visiting architect, who voted for McCain, said at a meeting organized by Republicans Abroad. "It comes at no cost to them to detest us." Some Europeans made much of Obama's ethnicity. "It would be fantastic to have a nonwhite president," said Letisha Brown, a Londoner. More than 1,000 people jammed into the U.S. embassy in central London waiting for the first returns to be shown on a dozen specially placed TV screens. The crowd included ambassadors, British politicians and many Americans sporting buttons that read "I Voted." Some people dressed like the Statue of Liberty, while others wore evening gowns and formal wear. In the sleepy Japanese coastal town of Obama -- which translates as "little beach" -- images of him adorned banners along a main shopping street. Election fever also ran high in Vietnam, where McCain was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years after being shot down in Hanoi during a 1967 bombing run. "He's patriotic," said Le Lan Anh, a Vietnamese novelist. "As a soldier, he came here to destroy my country, but I admire his dignity." ___ AP correspondents worldwide contributed to this report.
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