Kids' take on U.S.election

Following the announcement that Barack Obama would indeed become the next president of the US, there was a level of jubilation in the corridors of AIS that I had not anticipated. Students from Europe, Asia and the Middle East were high-fiving one another; they were genuinely excited that something they had previously considered an improbability had actually come to pass. The main reason for the students’ enthusiasm appeared to be that they had witnessed the monumental and historic election of a non-white male to the highest political office in the United States. For them, this is perhaps a hopeful sign that racism is on the wane. In addition, students here are politically aware and, generally speaking, the Bush Administration and its policies were not very popular, so a dramatic change was warmly welcomed.
 
AIS students know that I am a US citizen so they were eager to get my reaction to Obama’s victory... and just as eager to share their reactions with me. As the grade 8 group had been working on developing their persuasive writing skills, one of the kids asked if the class could write about Obama in their journals, but I thought it might be more interesting to collate a few of their ideas electronically and share them with friends and colleagues. Later in the day, when the grade 12 students came into the room they saw the comments from the grade 8 students on my computer screen and asked if they could contribute. How cool is it when students ask the English teacher for permission to write!?

What are your feelings about the recent presidential election in the U.S.?   How would you like to see these election results impact the future of your world?

The new president of the United States will make a huge impact on the world. Mr. Obama will make change like he says in his campaign.  I believe this because he is a young growing world leader. He is also a democrat.  The last eight years we have had a republican.  They are two different types of leaders.  The world needed that change.  Also we now have a person of a different race as a leader. This will impact the way people look at the United States.  For example people will look at it as a more open country than it usually was.  I believe he will make a great impact on the world today.
Daniel Helder, Age: 13, The Netherlands

I think that the new president is a great step forward in the American society. The fact that the United States has grown up and decided that it would be better to choose a leader of a different race shows that they are thinking and not being stubborn anymore. The down side of this choice is that the black community of the United States will think that Barrack Obama will do everything for them and when he doesn’t or chooses something more important they will feel left down. Overall I think that this is a major leap in history and it will have a great affect on the world in a positive way.
Lucas Wijsman, Age: 13, Belgium

I believe electing Barrack Obama for president is the best thing the United States could have done. He will impact the world in a bigger way than even his biggest fan would have thought. Barrack Obama will not only help the world out of the financial crisis, but he has already taken a huge step to creating racial peace and equal rights to multiple races. Finally, Barrack Obama will fix and completely banish any harm done to the world by previous leaders.
Lina De Belder, Age: 13, Belgium

To be completely honest I couldn’t care less about the next American president, by the end of the election I was sick of seeing Obama and McCain’s faces on the front of newspapers.                                                                                                    Alex Lyons 13, England

The great new president Barrack Obama was picked for a reason and the reason is that is McCain would have continued the awful things Bush has done. He will change the war in Iraq and hopefully take those troops out and I know that he will make a difference in the world. Good luck America.
Rahul Mehta, Age 12, India

When the U.S elections were going on seeing as I’m not from America I really didn’t mind who won the elections as long as the person voted for president doesn’t screw America up. It was a bit annoying that on almost every single channel they were showing the elections. It was a bit confusing as to why they were showing the elections on a Belgian channel. In the future of elections people shouldn’t just vote for the person because he is cute but they should be wise and think “does he have the potential to change America and stop the Iran-Iraq war.” 
Kate Stephan,13,South African

Personally people feel that the elections in the US have been a break through in history, having a black man enter the White House. Maybe now the world will set aside its difficulties with different races and will see everyone as an equal. The elections have influenced my life even though I do not live in America and I’m not American. Ever since the elections begun I had been following them closely. I feel that if Barack Obama does everything he says he will then he will be a fantastic president, it also helps that he is not old, this means he can relate more to the younger part of Americas population.
Annabel Ridge, age 13, Great Britain


Personally I think that the elections have been a major break-through for this world. Having a black person enter the White House is a thing that has never happened in history before. I also am very happy to see that Obama is a rather young person. This means that he might work more with the youth; whereas; McCain has more experience in this world, but he might have different views of how a country should be run. This is probably reflected by his childhood and the Vietnam War. Obama; however, does not have as much experience but he will show great effort. The result of this U.S. elections this year seem very promising.
Niels Wicke, age 13, Germany


I think that Obama has done very good job and he is going to change things but personally it has not effected me, so I really don’t care because I am living right now in Belgium.
Naman Patel, Age 13, India

Personally I think that the results of these elections are going to have a big impact on the world. I mostly think that because it’s the first time there is a black man in the white house and because USA is a leading country I think this is going to change the way other people think about black people. I hope Obama will make the good decisions.
Ariane Lieberherr, age 13, France

The choice of making Obama president was a very good idea and to me I think that it would help the USA to have a good and strong president after Bush. I do not have anything against Bush but I still think that he could have done a better job than he did. I do not think that the choosing of Obama for president will have a big impact on me. The results affect the USA a lot but in Europe and other continents and countries the impact might only be small. The trades might get more supervised but otherwise nothing will change greatly.
Ellinor Lundgren-Eneheim, age 12, Sweden

The 2008 presidential elections in the United States were quite an interesting one. Personally, the results do not affect me. I am not subjective – I did not favor one president over another. Obama’s winning the elections will have a big impact on America and will be a turning point in the country’s history. In my opinion, this will reduce racism (at least in the US if not anywhere else).

I am happy if the US obtains the rightful president and will have positive outcomes.

Let us cross our fingers that Barack Obama will make the wise and judicious decisions!

Sachi Bhansali, 13, Belgian Indian

The election between Obama and John McCain was good because Obama won. i was very happy that Obama became the president of America. If I lived in America, i wouldn’t wan John McCain to be the president of America because, he is 80 years old and he can die anytime or get a heart attack anytime. so it was better if Obama would get selected, but i feel sorry for John McCain. I think we all should be proud of john McCain because he at least tried, even though he is very old.

Akshi Jogani 13, Belgian-Indian