Welcome, President Obama

Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist and Princeton professor who recently was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, had an extremely poignant comment about Barack Obama's election. "If the election of our first African-American president didn't stir you, if it didn't leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there's something wrong with you," he has written.

I did not initially support Obama as the Democratic candidate. The party had an impressive lineup of candidates during the primary election race, each of whom, I believed, was far more electable than Obama.

My primary interest was to see the Republican candidate defeated. I recognized that Obama was an exceptional political figure. But I feared that bigotry would prevent an African-American from being voted into the White House.

Happily, I was proven wrong. The election of Obama demonstrated to the world that the United States is indeed a unique multi-racial and multi-ethnic democracy. His victory should restore the magnificent international image that we enjoyed until President George W. Bush's irrational and aggressive foreign policies destroyed it.

In response to Obama's election, American flags are once again being waved enthusiastically abroad rather than being burned in anger. Bigots are unfortunately still around in our country, but they have been defeated.