Free Republic

PARIS – Barack Obama's election as America's first black president unleashed a renewed love for the United States after years of dwindling goodwill, and many said Wednesday that U.S. voters had blazed a trail that minorities elsewhere could follow. People across Africa stayed up all night or woke before dawn to watch U.S. history being made, while the president of Kenya — where Obama's father was born — declared a public holiday. In Indonesia, where Obama lived as child, hundreds of students at his former elementary school erupted in cheers when he was declared winner and poured into the courtyard...

US presidential hopeful Barack Obama's 67-year-old step mother, Kezia Obama, believes that he will change the way the world thinks once he takes charge at the White House in Washington. As he arrived in London on Saturday, Kezia Obama, Barack Senior's first wife, said proudly: "The things Barry Junior says are the things the world needs to focus on." "I believe he's the right person at the right time. He's the one to make the changes we need. If he does win he will be a president for the whole world," The Mirror quoted her, as saying. Kezia describes herself...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is "The Most Influential Man in the World," according to Esquire magazine. The magazine has designated him as "the most powerful agent of change in the world" despite his lack of electoral standing and the fact he was laid low by a heart attack ahead of last year's presidential election. The magazine highlights Clinton's accomplishments in its December issue, which goes on newsstands on Thursday, profiling the world's "Best and Brightest" men and women. Since leaving office, Clinton has been so active that his post-presidency amounts to "a third term" for...