OBAMA

AOG, Madrid

Last night I was talking to my mother in London on the phone. We discussed the election in the US and we both hoped Obama would win. We talked about the long road to the White House and all sorts of realpolitik topics, like will the US really vote for a black candidate? And also the fact that Mr. Obama lost his Grandmother the day before voting started. My mother, a true romantic at heart, said nonchalantly that “Well, now she can help him win from Heaven”.

This afternoon I walked into my office to find my colleagues excited about the night’s events. I work for a Financial paper in Madrid. My co-workers are Spanish.

“His speech was like something from a movie!”, said one.

“I loved how McCain spoke about supporting the new President”, said another.

“That would never happen here”, said a third.

I looked at her and said that it was up to us to make sure something like that did happen here.

All three looked bemusedly at me and retorted that that would never happen in Spain.

“We don’t have that kind of politician” was the general summary.

I was saddened that my co-workers, many in their late 20s or early 30s, think that they deserve, or should put up with endlessly, with bad politicians.

But then I was raised in the US, not Spain, and I was instilled with the knowledge that if you want change, you make change. Unfortunately I think most Europeans wait for change to arrive at their doorstep.

No, I don’t think the American way is better, or that the European way is worse. They are merely different and have a plus side and a minus side.

Over the course of the afternoon my sister and I emailed each other after celebrating Mr. Obama's victory on Facebook. We were happy that the Bush era is well and truly over.

I spoke with my mother this morning. She was elated. We both were. Then reality struck our conversation.

“We must hope they don’t shoot him”, she said. I had to acquiesce. This is what the Guardian has to say about it.

They said the exact same thing at work.