An Oath Anticipated Around the World

Through campaign stops, primaries and debates, images and stories from the American presidential election appeared on front pages around the world in 2008. The international media was especially captivated by the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton has worldwide recognition as a former first lady. The history-making promise of Obama's campaign also was a tug for an international audience. Or maybe it was a worldwide need for change that created the interest. Whatever the reason, the interest was intense. So it is no surprise that Inauguration Day is front and center from Austria and the United Kingdom to Brazil and Chile to India and Indonesia. "The United States of Obama," said the front page of Die Presse in Vienna, Austria. "A Monumental Moment," declared The Namibian in Windhoek, Namibia. Like some U.S. newspapers, the international press used the U.S. ritual that happens every four years and the election of America's first African-American president to expressed hope. In a front-page column from Washington, The Guardian of London proclaimed the events as a "Magic spell that will open new American era."