Hi, I'm Natasha Hassan, Comment Editor of The Globe and Mail, and I have the pleasure of once again hosting today's GlobeSalon.
GlobeSalon is a group of eminent commentators who gather intermittently at globeandmail.com for a "virtual salon" discussion whenever major news developments or significant issues arise.
It seems like only yesterday we got together to chew over the results of the Canadian federal election. Well, today we do it all again, only this time we will turn our attention to Barack Obama's riveting and historic election victory Tuesday that will make him the first black president of the United States.
Almost 20 Salonistas will be taking taking part: author Naomi Klein; political adviser John Duffy; Nobel laureate John Polanyi; Halifax lawyer and former Trudeau adviser Brian Flemming; Christian broadcaster Lorna Dueck; Clifford Orwin, the political scientist; David Beers, founding editor of The Tyee; business leader Gwyn Morgan; economist Jim Stanford; former academic, ambassador and publisher Norman Spector; pollster and author Michael Adams; historian Margaret MacMillan; philosopher Mark Kingwell; author Camilla Gibb; political scientist Antonia Maioni; author and commentator Irshad Manji; President of St.Thomas University Michael Higgins; and our own Globe columnists Margaret Wente and Marcus Gee.
There are about two dozen "salonistas" and you can read the full lineup and see their biographies and pictures here .
Please join us at 10 a.m. ET for our U.S. election discussion which will continue until 4 p.m. ET.
You can also take a look at our previous GlobeSalon discussions on:
* Whither Canada after the Oct. 14 federal election
* Prime Minister Harper's apology to native Canadians
* China's evolution as Olympic Games host and beyond
Editor's Note: In keeping with the nature of this discussion, we will be fully moderating reader comments to ensure the highest level of debate. We will be strictly enforcing our written guidelines on comments. Please "Join the Conversation" but please do so in the spirit we hope to create for the GlobeSalon. In this case, please also be advised that we reserve the right to edit comments for length or clarity.
Natasha Hassan: Given the historic nature of yesterday's election result, it is only appropriate to begin our discussion today with historian Margaret MacMillan, coming to us from Oxford:
Margaret MacMillan: First reactions from the other side of the Atlantic. Thank god!
Most of us stayed up into the early morning and we are all delighted. I haven't met a person, heard a commentator, or read a paper that does not greet the Obama victory with relief and gratitude.
Like most Canadians, Europeans have watched the United States with increasing disbelief, not to say horror, in the past eight years.
What had happened to the country of Jefferson and Lincoln, the country that spoke for the best ideals in humanity, that believed in the rule of law and democracy?
The United States we increasingly saw in the Bush years was like the wicked sister in fairy tales — mean, suspicious, vindictive. I could go on but why bother?
A watershed was crossed last night and whatever lies ahead — and of course it is not going to be easy for the new administration — the United States rejected the divisive, wretched politics of this particular brand of Republicans.
I'm off to celebrate or get some sleep — can't decide which.
Natasha Hassan: Political scientist Clifford Orwin sees a few clouds on Barack Obama's horizon:
Clifford Orwin: Well, last night unfolded as predicted: an easy victory for Obama in the Electoral College, masking (as the E.C. tends to do) a much more even result in the popular vote.
Given that this year was a nightmare scenario for the Republicans, the popular vote margin was underwhelming.
The public may be sick of partisanship, but the divisions that sustain it remain, and hard times will only aggravate them.
Obama's rhetoric of "working together for real change" was just what the doctor ordered for this campaign, but it didn't succeed in repealing the fact that real change is not unifying but inevitably divisive.
