A New World

The next president of the United States will confront a very different world from the one George Bush used to vacation in eight years ago. The new congress will be heavily democratic, our international allies will be very suspicious of us and the rest of the world will watch every move we make with grave interest. Meanwhile, the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression will be rearranging the foundations of the world’s economies.

Our new president will have to help build a new world. Many of the old traditions can be salvaged, modified and used in different ways. Many new traditions will have to be created though, working with a heavily democratic congress and nations in Europe in Asia and the Middle East. This work will require leadership from people who possess skills in organizing and communication, and who have experience in reaching across many different aisles and oceans.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden seem to possess these understandings and experiences. On the other hand, John McCain would bring his belief that war actually works, an admitted ignorance of economic matters, and a trust in the ability of markets - like finance, healthcare, armament, energy, education and all the others, to regulate themselves. And if he dies or is assassinated, the former mayor of Wasila, Alaska, will have to work with the democrats in congress and our allies abroad, and those other people too, in a world that never existed until now.