Goodwill and Patience

Hello everyone! I’ve been invited to join the Papamoka crew, I suppose to add a kind of European perspective for the site (not that I can really speak for anyone but myself). My name’s Alex, I’m from Britain, and I’m delighted to join you all in ranting and raving about American politics. Given the timing, I’d be tempted to call this my inaugural, but I think perhaps that might be a little presumptuous!

I was watching Madeleine Albright in an interview on the news a moment ago, and she commented that she couldn’t recall the last time that so many people around the world had such enthusiasm for an incoming president, and – from my experience at least – she’s absolutely right. If Europeans had had a vote in the election, it would have been pretty much unanimous for Obama. I teach American history to students at a university here in the UK, and their political memory rarely stretches beyond the Bush years. So it’s exciting for me to think that the upcoming period might help to change the stereotyped, negative views of the United States that are so common in Europe and elsewhere around the world, and highlight some of the many great things to be found in the good ol' US of A.

As much as tomorrow’s about partying and celebrating, though, we all need to temper our excitement with a healthy dose of patience. If last September was our generation's Wall Street Crash, then we’ve got a long journey before things get back on track. After all, FDR didn’t really bring the American economy back to life until World War Two. In a year or two, if Obama’s not managed to bring everything back to the ‘everything on credit’ days of 2005 and the belts still remain tight, that’s when we’ll need to have some real goodwill for the new boss. (And I suspect that Obama will more or less say as much tomorrow...)

Anyway, enough from me. Thanks, Papamoka, for the invitation to the party. I wish I was in Washington to witness these miraculous events first hand with you all. And I hope everyone enjoys the show as much as I plan to. If you want any more reason to feel good about what you’re going to be watching, just remember: Barack Obama has single-handedly ensured that there’s at least five billion people out there who want America to do well for a change. Feel the warmth!

Alex Goodall
Papamoka’s European Contributor
From A Swift Blow to the Head