Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The World Responds

Berliners enjoy the inauguration


From the blog of Renee Earle, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union (official blog of the Department of State):




"TV channels across Europe carried the ceremonies, and this morning it was hard to find a newspaper without a front cover carrying the image of the U.S. inauguration. Some papers ran 20 pages of coverage, and “open letters” from Foreign Ministers and school children detailed recommendations and aspirations for a world that can be renewed. From small towns to the European Union’s principal institutions, all shared in the significance of the moment. Braine- le-Comte, a small town south of Brussels, gathered its citizens around a large-screen showing of the inauguration in its town square while Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, issued a public statement: 'I personally believe that the election of President Obama was a defining, turning point for America. It may now also be an important turning point for the rest of the world.'


Kenyans point shoes as Bush appears on screen

Both the U.S. Mission to the EU and our 'bilat,' the U.S. Embassy in Belgium, hosted standing-room-only receptions to view the inauguration. Smilingly enthusiastic, our European guests, like the editorial comment across Europe and Belgian Defense Minister, Pieter De Crem, in his speech at the Embassy event, hailed a new era, a renewal of America and its place in the world. European officials, media, NGO leaders and other friends tried also to focus some attention on the challenges ahead and the great, perhaps unrealistic, expectations for one president, who would have to be 'a cross between Gandhi and Superman,' but last night the emphasis was on jubilation and hope. This morning, an email from a European think tank contact summed up the feelings, 'You may not believe it yet, but America is back.'"



What can I add? Maybe just this:






More photos at CNN.com

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