Vexed Bermoothes

Barack Obama, with his message of change and hope, has won the US election with a thundering mandate.  It is a remarkable day.

Like Bermuda, America wants new faces and a determination to face the issues rather than wallow in past battles and fears.  Put simply, the electorate is tired of the same old shit.

Obama’s “New Dawn” victory speech is well worth reading in its entirety:

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

Some messages in there for Bermuda too.

Dr. Brown was fast off the mark, releasing a press statement to the Caribbean congratulating the President-elect:

There are moments in the annals of history that give us pause. Tonight we have experienced such a moment. We are elated and humbled by an occurrence that many of us never believed we would see in our lifetime.

A generation (or two) newer to world, I did not doubt that I would see a person of colour assume that highest office.  But it’s not about race, it’s about belief that a candidate can make a positive change for the country no matter their hue.  And the reasonable expectation that the victory is not a mandate for payback but a license to govern with transparency, accountability, and equity.