Watching America Vote
By Andy Eckardt, NBC News Producer
MAINZ, Germany – As soon as Barack Obama’s presidential victory was confirmed, German media outlets cheered what they hoped would be a big change from the Bush years.
"America – risen from ruins," said the headline on the Web site of Germany's national newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"Historic victory for Obama. America has shown: everything is possible," Germany's mass-circulation BILD newspaper exclaimed online.
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| EPA |
| An Obama supporter holds a placard which states 'Obama for chancellor' during an election party at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany on Nov. 4. |
Election enthusiasm
Interest in this year's U.S. election was exceptionally high in Germany, with millions of viewers staying up all night to watch election coverage.
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By NBC News' Fakhar Rehman
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- "As a Pakistani, I am not hopeful (Barack Obama’s) election will bring any positive change for Pakistan," said Zohra Aslam, 26, a lecturer of political science at Government College in Kohat, near the Afghan border.
Here in Pakistan, people all over the country followed the U.S. presidential campaigns with anticipation and in many cases skepticism. On election night, television channels stayed on air all night with special programming and analyses.
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| AP |
| A Pakistani man sells evening newspapers with the headline story of Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election on a road in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday. |
"Obama or McCain, either way it's a lose-lose situation for Pakistan regarding U.S. policies towards our country," said Yasmeen Khan, a housewife and mother of three, in Quetta, capital of the southwestern province of Balouchistan province.
Khan said she closely followed the campaigns for months and felt she got to know both candidates and their policies towards Pakistan. "I really admire the American election process," she said, trying to add a more positive note to her analysis. "We don't have free and fair election campaigns here- we need to learn that from the Americans."
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By Paul Goldman, NBC News Producer
TEL AVIV, Israel – With Israelis in the grip of U.S. election mania and anxiously awaiting the results, Israeli radio rang out the dulcet tone of Abba’s "The Winner Takes it All."
Mike's Place, a bar in Tel Aviv, that was decorated with American flags and eight TV sets transmitting the live events from the U.S. became a gathering place for Obama supporters.
A renowned establishment, Mike’s Place attracts a mix of local youngsters and foreign travelers. It was also the site of a 2003 suicide attack that killed three and wounded over 50 people.
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| Reuters |
| Supporters of U.S. President-elect Senator Barack Obama cheer as they monitor the results of the U.S. presidential election in a bar in Jerusalem on Nov. 5. |
But at 4 a.m. on Wednesday morning local Tel Aviv time, the bar was packed with Democrat party supporters drinking beer and waiting for the poll results to come out.
At 5:59 a.m. the countdown started: "Four, Three, Two, One!" and the crowd sprang-up from their chairs with happy cheers and began hugging each other. Even one of the waitresses, pushing her way through the happy crowed, burst into happy tears.
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By NBC News' Moufaq Khatib
AMMAN, JORDAN -- Cries of "The world has changed! Bush is out!" rang out from a café as people watched news of Barack Obama’s historic win here in Jordan.
The American presidential campaigns were closely followed here, with Arab media channels like Al-Jazeera dedicating more time and attention to the U.S. vote than they normally give to elections here or in other Arab countries.
Newspapers also followed along, with one headline stating that a black man with a white heart would turn the United States into brightness, as opposed to a white man with a black heart that would turn it into darkness.
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By Mary Murray, NBC News Havana Bureau Chief
HAVANA – It didn’t take long for Cubans to hear about the success of Barack Obama.
The girl’s dorm at Havana’s V.I. Lenin High School broke into cheers after 17-year-old Gabriela Sanchez received a cell phone text message from her mom watching the U.S. election results on satellite TV.
Housewife Rosa Llanos heard the news on short wave radio and thought about her daughter and grandchild living in South Florida. She wants Obama to stick to his promise to lift current U.S. restrictions that limit family visits to once every three years.
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| EPA |
| A woman combs her hair as she watches the news on Cuban TV about the newly-elected U.S. President Barack Obama, in Havana, Cuba on Wednesday. |
That same wish was echoed by child psychiatrist Ana Teresa Martinez who sees young patients suffering from "the trauma of families divided by the Straits of Florida."
All through the night, Fernanda Hernandez spoke with her sibling Patricia, calling from Miami with regular election updates. These sisters too want changes in U.S. policy with Cuba.
Car mechanic Boris Ruiz working the night shift heard the news on Cuban TV and immediately called his wife. "I woke her up but I needed to tell someone the good news," Ruiz said.
For the first time in his life, Ruiz sees "a chance to normalize relations with the United States and that will make my life better."
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By Ian Williams, NBC News correspondent
JAKARTA, Indonesia – They were dancing in the rain in the school yard when Barack Obama's victory was announced – scores of children from the Menteng Elementary School in Central Jakarta, where Obama studied for two years during his four years as a child in Indonesia.
"He's so smart, so smart," said one little boy.
"He's made our school famous," said a young girl, as the children crowded round a large projector to watch Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago.
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| Reuters |
| Students display a picture of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and react to the announcement of his victory, at his former school in Jakarta on Wednesday. |
Few of them understood much of what the president-elect said, but still they cheered, taking their cue from the American crowd.
The headmaster took a call from the Indonesian president, congratulating him, while old classmates, who'd set up a fan club for the boy they all knew as "Barry," could hardly believe the news.
"I am speechless. So proud, and so happy that he has achieved what he set out to do," said Rully Dasaad, the club's coordinator, as he bounced between press interviews.
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By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer
CAIRO, Egypt – It may be a dark day for Joe the Plumber, but Cairo's Ali the Plumber had a grin on his face after president-elect Barack Obama's historic victory.
"It proves that racism in the United States is on the wane," concluded Ali Ibrahim.
Egyptians rejoiced at the victory of a man of African heritage. "It is the first time for a black man to win the presidency. There is democracy in America!" exclaimed Anwar Gad, a gardener in Cairo.
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| NBC News/Mohamed Muslemany |
| Cairo’s Ali the Plumber was pleased with Barack Obama’s election victory. |
Many seemed to believe that a black president will show more compassion to the Arab world. "For Arabs it’s a good thing. Bush turned the world upside down," said Gad. "Obama has African roots so he will be more sympathetic. We hope he will fix what Bush has damaged."
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Arata Yamamoto, NBC News Producer
TOKYO – "Yes we can! Obama!" roared Japanese men and women in hula-dance costumes on national television. They’re members of possibly the most ardent of Barack Obama supporters in Japan, a small fishing town in western Japan with a population of 32,000 which shares the same name as the new president-elect.
After Obama’s election victory, it seemed like every Japanese television network descended on the town of Obama to capture the jubilation of residents celebrating with their Hawaiian-themed dancing and singing (a tribute to Obama’s birthplace) and hoping that their tie to the ever-popular next president of the United States will boost local business and tourism.
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| EPA |
| Members of a local Hula dance group 'Obama Hula Girls' stand in a circle during a celebration party held at the city hall in Obama City, a fishing port town in Japan, on Wednesday. |
In Japan, the excitement was hardly limited to the town of Obama, which translates in English to "little beach." At the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, more than 500 university students gathered to watch the election coverage. The election has ramification across the globe, said Masashi Yamashita, 22. "Change is important not just for the United States, but also for Japan. If the U.S. changes, so will the rest of the world."
It’s no surprise to see the outpouring of excitement here about Obama’s victory at the polls: a July Gallup poll found that 66 percent of the Japanese respondents favored Obama, overshadowing John McCain’s 15 percent.
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By Ali Arouzi, NBC News Producer
TEHRAN, Iran – "When I saw the election results this morning on TV I was very jealous of America," said an Iranian student in Tehran, Darius Dashdi.
"I was jealous of their democratic system and the opportunity that is afforded to each and every citizen regardless of color or religion. I wish we had the same type of opportunities here," he said.
Despite Dashdi’s optimistic view of the United States’ election of Barack Obama, the Democratic winner has largely been viewed here as the lesser of two evils.
Early on Wednesday, prominent Iranian MP Hamid Reza Haji Babai said the Democrat’s victory presented an "opportunity and a test," with Iran now "waiting for that change" that Obama based his campaign on.
"In the past eight years, (President George W.) Bush had created a bad atmosphere against the United States in the world with his militarism and this financial crisis," said Haji Babai.
"The election of McCain would have worsened this atmosphere," he said.
Back on the streets of Tehran, housewife Roya Amini said "Obama seems like he is different, but you never know with America what they might do."
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Adrienne Mong, NBC News Producer
BEIJING – Judging by the reactions to the life-size cardboard cutouts of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, the latter was the clear favorite in a hotel conference room in Beijing early Wednesday morning.
Crowds of young Chinese waited impatiently to pose with the cardboard Obama for their cameras. One female student stealthily turned away the McCain cutout so she and her friends could huddle more comfortably beside the president-elect.
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| Adrienne Mong / NBC News |
| Many Chinese seemed to relish the opportunity to "cast" a vote. |
It was all part of a dual-pronged effort by the American Embassy in Beijing to educate Chinese on the U.S. electoral process and to celebrate the election results for what some call the most historic presidential race in decades.
The U.S. Embassy, with assistance from the American Chamber of Commerce and the American Center for Educational Exchange, set up mock voting booths and handed out pamphlets explaining the process.
First ‘vote’ for many Chinese
Crowds of young Chinese read the mock ballots, diligently filled them out, and then stood before cameras in front of the ballot box. It was the first time any of them had cast a vote – real or imaginary.
"It’s exciting," said She Rui, a 24-year-old graduate student in international relations at People’s University. The election, he said, "is very important, because it gives the people a chance to express their needs [and] to choose their leaders."
He and some of his fellow students said they were happy Obama won. "He is young and can give fresh blood to American society," said 21-year-old Xing Yu Jie,
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