The Grownups

Generally, when American politics gets reflected in the British press, the picture that results is slightly, subtly, wrong. You the reader are left to puzzle over how different national perspectives can be.

However, this article from the Guardian actually reflects the picture rather well, giving the perspective one hopes to gain from distance.

Why are the British waiting for Obama to take office?

"After John McCain threatened the world with a putative vice-president who seemed to regard her own ignorance as a credential for high office, and after he granted Joe the Plumber the status of chief adviser on taxation policy, it's a relief that the US will soon be run by people with qualifications to do the job."

OK, you already knew why they were excited- I just wanted to put that quote in the post. It encapsulates a primary dynamic of the election for me in a single sentence.

Also, a note to all you people in MOVEON and others whining that the President Elect isn't "changing" enough: stop being upset that Obama is hiring experienced people to work in his administration. Stop being upset that he is charting centrist policies. Why should you stop? Because he told you, repeatedly, during the election that he was going to govern this way. We hired this guy to be competent and sane- with his press conferences over the last three days, he has looked both, and is cutting a remarkable contrast to W, who seems to have finally been crushed by the weight of circumstance. Let's get through the next month and a half, let the President try to save us from a depression, acknowledge that industrial societies are destroying the planet, and release our untried prisoners from military prisons. Then we can start arguing about the finer nuances.