Angelika Miracles still happen. In November 2008, American voters propelled Barack Obama into the White House with a solid majority. Starting in January, a Democrat will finally hold the highest office in the state again. Not only that, the Democrats further increased their majorities in the Senate (6 seats) and House of Representatives (20 seats). The voters finally punished the disastrous policy of George Bush and his Republican party.

Until the end, I didn't believe in an Obama victory, even though the polls indicated it leading up to November 4th. I generally don't trust polls. First of all, only certain people who have nothing else to do participate in polls and secondly, the person being polled can lie through their teeth without anyone noticing.

The so-called Bradley Effect was buzzing around in my head, namely the fact that white voters would not openly admit that they would not vote for a black candidate, because it is considered racist. The black former mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, after whom the phenomenon is named, ran for governor of California in 1992 and although he was ahead in the polls, he lost the election. Now of course I am glad that my pessimistic prediction did not come true and we were able to witness the historic event of the first black American being elected as the 44th President of the USA.

The whole country was ecstatic and not just in progressive San Francisco, people were dancing in the streets with joy. I always view mass outpourings of emotion with some skepticism, but even I sat teary-eyed in front of the television. The election victory of Barack Obama probably embodies American ideals and the American dream like no other. A man with a white mother from Kansas and an African father from Kenya, whom he never actually saw, who grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia and has a name that sounds very unusual even to American ears, manages with iron will and discipline to become President of the United States. The country, which has been battered by financial and energy crises and the Iraq war, can once again believe in itself and reinvent itself.

You may also be wondering why Barack Obama is always referred to as the first black president, since he actually has a multiethnic background (the term "biracial" is common in America), with a white mother and an African father. This is a sensitive topic in America. During the election campaign, there were some strange discussions, for example, whether Barack Obama presented himself as too white or too black. When Obama speaks of himself, he refers to himself as black. Two hundred years ago, the term "white" was used to refer to immigrants of European descent. Anyone who had only one black parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent at that time could be sold as a slave without valid emancipation papers and was therefore "black". By the way, most African Americans born in America today have a white American somewhere in their ancestry, and the genes have certainly mixed over time.

Incidentally, I am firmly convinced that McCain would have been sitting in the President's chair if the financial crisis had not intensified so dramatically shortly before the election and he had surrounded himself with better advisors. McCain is not exactly an expert in economics, and he made the glaring mistake of wanting to make the tax cuts introduced by Bush, which disproportionately favor the super-rich, permanent, even though he had voted against them in the Senate. In any case, he threw overboard what people appreciated about him: his ability to work with Democrats in the Senate and not to stick to party lines when it came to ideas.

He was one of the few Republicans who voted against drilling in the "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," but then shouted "Drill, Baby, Drill" during the election campaign. He had also sworn to run a clean campaign. But when he was behind Barack Obama in the polls, smear campaigns appeared in television ads. McCain was in the dilemma that he won the nomination of his own party by pandering to the ultra-conservative base, but lost the election because he did not convince the independent voters, without whom no one can get into the White House. His radical right-wing views didn't catch and he lost his credibility.

Ultimately, it seems that the gamble with Sarah Palin as Vice President didn't pay off. Yes, the ultra-conservatives still flock to her, and I fear that we will hear more from the lady from Alaska in the future. Probably McCain would have been better off with Joe Lieberman, the senator from Connecticut who officially functions as an independent Democrat in the Senate. It is rumored that McCain wanted Lieberman, but his advisor team then forced him to take Palin.

Now Barack Obama is really taking on a heavy legacy. The economy is in an absolutely desolate state, the housing market is in ruins, the American infrastructure is whistling out of the last hole, the budget deficit is growing from day to day and the American auto industry and the health care system are on the brink of collapse. Not to mention the chaos in Afghanistan and Iraq and the upcoming challenges regarding scarce and expensive energy. A lot is coming to the man and the expectations are high. We hope that they finally get something sorted out in Washington, because the stars couldn't be more favorable: Senate, House of Representatives and President in democratic hands. Maybe we'll get a health insurance for everyone after all. The times certainly require radical changes and great ideas. We'll see if Barack Obama has the necessary foresight, courage and good assertiveness. He is rather known as a pragmatist and a man of the middle.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Stella Awards
  	Nader and the Endless Campaign
  	Top Product: Garage Door Opener
  	Time Zones
  	The Fair Credit Reporting Act
  	Proposition Number 8 (Same Sex Marriage)
  	Open Studios and Berkeley Art Center
  	A screwdriver opens the door lock
  	Solution to the Time Zone Trivia Question