World Reactions to Obama Win Increase: Young and Old Cheer Historic Victory

``A hundred years ago, he would have been a slave. A hundred years on, he is the president. That's massive,'' T. K. Kurien, president of strategic programs at Wipro Ltd., India's third-largest software services provider, said by telephone from London.

``A new broom sweeps clean,'' said Wu Ruiling, 69, a retired teacher in Shanghai. ``The new president may introduce concrete measures to fix the financial crisis. Once things improve in the U.S., the world improves and China improves.''

``I hope that President Elect Obama will be able to resist the protectionist pressures from Congress that he'll feel pretty heavily,'' said Chris Patten, former European Union commissioner for external relations and Britain's last governor of Hong Kong. ``For China to get better off does not mean America getting worse off.''

French President Nicolas Sarkozy congratulated Obama in a letter released publicly, saying the outcome ``resonates well beyond your borders.''

``Your stunning victory rewards a tireless commitment to serving the American people,'' Sarkozy wrote. ``It is also the crowning achievement of an exceptional campaign whose brilliance and high tone demonstrated the vitality of American democracy to the entire world, while keeping them spellbound.''

Faisal Ali al-Mutawa, chairman of Bayan Investment Co. KSCC, a Kuwaiti financial services provider, called Obama's victory incredible, saying it proves he's ``an extraordinary person.''

``Am I worried?'' he asked in a phone interview from Kuwait City. ``Yes, because he is untested as far as foreign policy and its complexity is concerned, especially in our area. If there's no orderly withdrawal from Iraq, there will be chaos in our region.''

Ren Zhengxian, 37, a rickshaw driver in Beijing, said he didn't know if Obama would be able to change the U.S. for the better. ``We don't know what he'll be like,'' he said, watching Senator John McCain's concession speech in a bar. ``Clinton was friends with everyone. Bush has started wars and now the U.S. economy is so bad. We just don't know if he can change the U.S.''

``It's America showing some maturity,'' said Greg Ryan, 38, a financial planner in Sydney, Australia, adding Obama will be a more ``peaceful'' president than George W. Bush. ``America's gone too far down that world policeman thing.''

Obama's victory is a ``generational change'' and he may take global warming more seriously. ``That's the big picture isn't it, the environment. The war over water is going to be bigger than the war over oil in the long run.''

``Obama winning the election shows just how much the U.S. has changed,'' said South Korean Kim Sang Hyuck, 32, watching the results on his mobile phone in downtown Seoul. ``When I was studying there in Philadelphia nearly 10 years ago, there were still pockets of racism. I never thought then that the U.S. would choose an African-American president.''

Obama's victory ``carries with it hope for millions'' of Americans and people of ``African descent both in the continent of Africa as well as those in the Diaspora,'' Kgalema Motlanthe, South Africa's president, said in a statement.

Yasuhiro Nakasone, 90, who served as Japan's prime minister from 1982 to 1987, said the Bush administration had ``got into a rut'' and that Obama offered ``hope.''

``The public will feel a sense of freshness,'' said Nakasone, whose office waiting room in Tokyo is adorned with a picture of him strolling with the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan at Camp David, the presidential retreat.

Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, chief executive officer of Asia Plus Securities Pcl, Thailand's third-largest broker, said many Thais think Obama will reduce tensions in the world. Still, others preferred McCain because they saw him as being more committed to free trade.

``A lot of people who are not focused on exporting to the U.S. wanted Obama as president,'' he said. ``People are tired of Bush, they want more peace talks, more words of negotiation rather than pointing weapons at each other. Obama's character is very appealing.''

Pongsak Assakul, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, said an Obama presidency will slow trade.

``It's known that the Democrats are more anti-trade and they are trying to protect the jobs in the U.S., so there could be some sort of reaction or delay on free-trade agreements and negotiations,'' he said. ``It will affect the whole world. More protectionism will happen under Barack Obama.''

Rosa Chiquichano, 61, the only Indian in Argentina's national parliament, said Obama's victory gives hope to minorities the world over that change is possible. ``This is a great opportunity,'' she said. ``I hope he will help start a new order based on equality, solidarity and preservation of natural resources.''

Jacques Santer, 71, a former prime minister of Luxembourg and ex-president of the European Commission, said Obama's victory marks ``a historic change which shows that the United States is an entirely exceptional power, completing a fundamental social revolution in the space of two, three generations.''

Anwar Ibrahim, 61, Malaysia's opposition leader, said that while Obama represents a new face, there's some concern about his refusal to rule out pursuing extremists in Pakistan.

``I've met many Muslims who say when it comes to Middle East politics, his rhetoric on Pakistan is as strong as condescending, but still he represents this different face in the administration,'' he said.

``A new face offers Europe a new chance to remarry America,'' said Wolfgang Ischinger, 62, a former German ambassador to the U.S. ``That's the good news. The bad news is that this outburst of Obama-mania does create expectations which no president can possibly fulfill. Sooner or later there will be some disappointment on the way.''