Barack Obama for President......

After a long night of speculation and uncertainties Barack Obama was the real winner of the Iowa Caucus this morning, and at the surprise of most people around the world Hillary Clinton was standing third in the democrat first round election fight.

She will probably fight back as soon as next Thursday in new Hampshire but the rise of Barack Obama in a state where most of the population is white show that his message is beyond race or religion and that the ratio of people who are desperate for a change of politics in America (young, students,women) where the one who decided to support him in Iowa last night.

Obviously this is just the first round but another defeat for the Clinton duo next week would be hard to take and probably hard to translate in positive quote or speech in bigger state like Texas, Florida or California which are today all behind Hillary, but a negative result in New Hampshire can change the balance of power and be the beginning of a real chance for Barack Obama to be the first black President of the most powerful country in the world.

As a European citizen and an African my though are more focus on foreign policy and on how his lack of experience would stand against tough decision in Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Zimbabwe, Sudan....

If Barack Obama win the 2008 election in the US, been the first US black president will send a strong message of hope around the world and specially in Africa, but it will be just the beginning, because this hope will result on massive expectation from every men or women who felt before that their difference (race, religion...) was a to big handicap for them to move forward, but with Barack Obama as the US President more people will expect more from him than any US President before and it will start with the Black and Spanish communities in America.

Like he said himself late last night :

"They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided; too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose.

But on this January night – at this defining moment in history – you have done what the cynics said we couldn’t do; what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days; what America can do in this New Year. In schools and churches; small towns and big cities; you came together as Democrats, Republicans and Independents to stand up and say that we are one nation; we are one people; and our time for change has come".

I believe he is ready for the challenge and could make a huge difference in America by being more concern and focus on health and minority issue, on energy saving and climate change but I still believe that his blank record on the International stage could be a problem when we will need the USA to make the right decision to make a huge change in most part of the world.

I called some relatives and friend this morning in my country and in South Africa and everybody seem so happy and exited about Barack Obama, but they all asked me the same question :" Do you believe that he can make a difference for us? Can he make our world, not his, better?"

Lets just hope that he can......