Change has come to America. Whither Malaysia?

By Alex Johnson (Reporter for msnbc.com) 1:10 a.m. ET Nov. 5, 2008

Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States.

A crowd of 125,000 people jammed Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama addressed the nation for the first time as its president-elect at midnight ET. Hundreds of thousands more — Mayor Richard Daley said he would not be surprised if a million Chicagoans jammed the streets — watched on a large television screen outside the park.

“If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is 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,” Obama declared.

“Young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled, Americans have sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of red states and blue states,” he said. “We have been and always will be the United States of America.

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” he said to a long roar.

A broad and deep victory

Campaigning as a technocratic agent of change in Washington and not a pathbreaking civil rights figure, Obama swept to victory over McCain, whose running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was seeking to become the nation’s first female vice president.

Obama’s election was a broad one. He won Florida, the scene of so much electoral chaos in recent elections. He won Ohio, a key to President Bush’s two election wins. He won Colorado, home of the religious right. And he won Virginia, reversing 40 years of Republican victories there.
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Besides listing Barack Obama as one of my two favorite politicians in the FACEBOOK (the other being China's premier Wen JiaBao), I also subscribed to "You Decide 2008" sometime ago after Obama became the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and regularly received emails from his campaign managers. Below is what I received today:

Tai-Onn --

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack
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My afterthought:

For African Americans, history has finally caught up. Barack Obama has made history by becoming the first African-American U.S. President elect.

When is such change going to happen in Malaysia? The racial discrimination in this country is still so rife and rampant today that even the recent appointment of a Chinese lady to the post of just an Acting General Manager of a State Economic Development Corporation (i.e. PKNS) was met with strong objection from the ultra-racist politicians and certain quarters of the majority race who want to permanently cling on their "crutches"!

.

Obama's historic victory is truly hailed and cherished by all right-thinking humankind in the world! The great American dream is alive and kicking, while there is still nightmare of skin colour among the non-Malay Malaysians. How can this country ever progress to become a developed nation?