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NY Times: Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” said Mr. Obama, standing before a huge wooden lectern with a row of American flags at his back, casting his eyes to a crowd that stretched far into the Chicago night.

“It’s been a long time coming,” the president-elect added, “but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.”

CNN: We Can Become Something Great

“You never seen black children playing golf till [Woods] started playing,” said Sutton, explaining that even his 7-year-old grandson, Josh, now enjoys playing golf.

What Woods did for golf, Sutton said, Obama has done for politics. Children across the nation were told Tuesday night that they, too, can aspire to the highest office in the land.

“If he can do it, they believe they can do it,” Sutton said.

Back at University Barbershop, Tarver’s colleague, Spot Jackson, 28, said the only thing keeping him awake was some Burger King coffee and a few doughnuts after staying up until 6 a.m. watching election news.

Like Tarver and Sutton, Jackson said he believes Obama shattered the ceiling for black men and women. He joked that Obama’s victory made him want to start a foundation. Its mission would be simple, he said.

“We’re going to eradicate the word ‘can’t.’ We’re going to try to get it out of every dictionary known to man,” he said.

“There’s nothing you can honestly say you can’t do anymore; it just changes your perception as far as what you think is possible in this country.”

Jackson dismissed a question about whether the change was made possible by Obama’s skin color, saying it was more about the man’s character and platform.

“He could’ve been green and if the message was the same and it resonated the same way it did, then he still would’ve gotten the same support,” he said.

NY Times: Election Unleashes a Flood of Hope Worldwide

“Your election raises in France, in Europe, and elsewhere in the world, an immense hope,” [French president Nicolas Sarkozy] said in a message that called Mr. Obama’s victory “brilliant” and his campaign “exceptional.” Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany called his victory “historic” and invited Mr. Obama to return to Berlin, where he addressed a huge rally during his campaign.

Even in lands whose leaders are no friends of Washington — such as Venezuela and Iran — the election outcome cut through official propaganda to touch some people.

“It’s kind of nice to feel good about the United States again,” said Armando Díaz, 24, a bookkeeper in Caracas, Venezuela, where Enrique Cisneros, a storekeeper summed it up like this: “A few hours ago, the world felt like a different place.”

On a less serious note…

The Onion: Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job

WASHINGTON—African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America. In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation’s broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it. Said scholar and activist Mark L. Denton, “It just goes to show you that, in this country, a black man still can’t catch a break.”