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WWW.GUlLFORDIAN.COM
WORLD & NATION
World weighs
in on President
Obama’s victory
BY BRYAN DOOLEY
SenorWwtbi
President Barack Obama's Nov. 6 re-election was a
monumental world event, accompanied by a wide range
of positive and negative global reactions.
"I don't think there is one 'world' opinion of Obama,"
said Ken Gilmore, associate professor of political science.
"He tends to be well-liked in Europe and parts of Asia and
the Middle East, in comparison to previous presidents.
He's very popular across Africa."
According to the Guardian, in France, 78
percent of people wanted Obama to win, and
the president's second term was applauded
across the political spectrum.
Francois Hollande, the Socialist
president, sent his "warmest
congratulations" saying this was, "an
important moment for the U.S., but
also for the world."
In Africa, the re-election was also
well received.
The New York Times reports
that Kenya has supported Obama
since his first election. Reportedly,
one of the strongest reasons for
the country's support is the order
President Obama gave to kill Osama
Bin Laden.
"The man has shown a quiet
competence that is in stark contrast
to what came before," said media commentator Tom
Osanjo. "Bin Laden, for example, was responsible for the
deaths of many Kenyans, and few here are sad to see him
go-
According to the Associated Press, Kenya takes great
pride in its association with Obama and Prime Minister
Raila Odinga stated that the election victory was, "a great
day for the U.S. and Kenya."
Support was also strong in Europe. In Britain, the
reaction was optimistic.
British Prime Minister David Cameron told the
Associated Press, "I think he's a very successful president
and I look forward to working with him in the future."
The Chinese government acknowledged Obama's re-
election with an affirmative reaction.
News agency Xinhua reported that Chinese President
Hu Jintao congratulated Obama on his victory. Jintao said
in a message that Chinese and U.S. relations have made
positive progress in the past four years as a result of joint
efforts.
However, the reactions of some countries were not as
positive.
"Obama four years ago came onto the scene with
slogans of change and spoke of offering his hand in
cooperation to Iran," Sadeq Larijani, the powerful chief of
Iran's judiciary, told Iran Pulse.
"But (he) acted in a different way and unprecedented
sanctions against Iran have materialized, and it is natural
that the Iranian people will never forget the crimes of
America," concluded Larijani.
The Russian reaction was unenthusiastic as well.
Chairman of the Russian Duma's Foreign Affairs
Committee Alexei Pushkov stated, "If both parties try to
overcome the accumulated distrust, if America comes to
realize that it needs to work with Putin instead of thinking
that it doesn't like the Russia that we live in, then we could
achieve results."
Despite the wide range of global reactions, Obama's re-
election does not truly impact other countries' policies.
"As to what the rest of the world thinks about Obama's
win is anyone's guess," said Robert Duncan, visiting
assistant professor of political science. "The world is in ^
such a state today, both economically and politically, that
I am not sure anyone outside the U.S. really has time to
care that much."
Kyle Dell, associate professor of political science, adds
to this sentiment.
"Most people in the world have little or no interest in
the election," said Dell. "Let alone have a meaningful
opinion on the results. Even if we were to aggregate
together those that do, the reasons for their opinions
would be so diverse that I'm not sure we would be
able to say much about the common ground that
the pro-Romney people would have versus the pro-
Obama people."
Dell continued, "I do think a U.S. presidential
election is a visible event on the global political
stage, but I have my doubts about how many
people are 'in the theater' and what we
can really say about those that are."
Guilford gauges
election outcomes,
reflects ou campaign
BY MCCAFFREY BLAUNER
StsmtWiutbr
The mood on campus was tense Tuesday
night as the election results rolled in. All
eyes watched The Grill's TV screens; each
fluctuation in percentages and electoral
points was greeted by the sharp intake of
breath and low-key fist-pumping.
The New York Post said that former
Governor Mitt Romney was poised to win.
The Huffington Post gave President Barack
Obama 91 percent chance of victory. The
truth seemed murky.
Regardless/ some Obama supporters
retained faith in their chosen candidate.
"I'm sure he's going to win" said
Guilford College first-year Noah
McDonald. "However, I worry that the
electronic voting process is easier to mess
with than the one that involves actual
ballots."
These fears were not a hindrance in
determining a clear victor, however,
as later that night Obama clinched the
election after stringing together wins in
Colorado and Ohio.
Guilford
exploded into a
level of celebration
unprecedented
throughout the year.
"It was like Mardi Gras"
said sophomore Benjamin
Rosenthal. "Guilford was
significantly more poppin' that
night than any weekend. I think
there was some fool running around
with an American flag."
"I think it was probably pretty obnoxious
if you were pulling for Romney," added
another student, who requested not to be
named in the article. "It didn't feel like an
election. It felt like we won the Superbowl.
You definitely got the sense of there being
two separate teams at Guilford."
Those celebrating eventually spilled
down to the lake and a bonfire began.
Even hours later, the cheers from campus
could still be heard.
When asked if he was satisfied with the
results of the election, one student stated
feel like an election."
WQFS associate Joe
Fish seemed unaffected by
Guilford's overwhelming
enthusiasm for another
Obama presidency. "I just
wish that gays, all those
people, could have waited
another four years; we are
going to go broke from
government spending." *
Regardless of remaining
personal objections,
on Jan. 20, 2013,
President Obama will
be inaugurated into
the office of president
for a second time. His
successes and his failures
over the next four years
remain to be seen.
Graphic by Joy Damon
that he thought "it was a situation where
people were supposed to choose the lesser
of two evils, which is a pretty shitty way
for our system to run, you know?" He
added, "even a lot of the folks voting
for Obama either don't really know his
politics, or they don't like him."
Sophomore Duncan Fitzgerald, a self-
proclaimed Romney supporter, said, "It
really was obnoxious when people were
celebrating. It didn't feel serious. It didn't
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