by Nadine Sellers

Created on: January 28, 2009

Upon exploring the media responses across the globe, i have been surprised by the width of effect the new face on the block has had on the planet's politics.The international popularity of The 44th president of the United States has generated as many questions as it has demonstrated the power of hope; the first question is why so much joy? Is it merely coincidental contrast, or simply relief at the lifting of one administration and the installation of a new one?

New and improved has been a marketing ploy ever since merchants have sold their wares. Change has been a promise for as long as cows moved to greener pastures. So what is so grand about the Obama charisma? Youth, teeth, physical fitness, command of mind and language, yes to all of the above. Yet not all the world is eager to test the novel presidency.

ALBANIA: Two hours prior to the Inaugural event , TV Albanias hooked in direct to broadcast the whole festivities. Among the Balkans the message rang clearly. " The world has changed, and we must change also". From Kosovo to Macedonia, the most pro-American people of the world have claimed the democratic victory as theirs. After president Bush's visit in Fushe-Kriya, where he declared the independence of Kosovo, Albania has suffered from corruption and poverty under Berisha.

ARGENTINA: President Cristina Fernandez had met with Cuban President Raul Castro to celebrate what is generally perceived as an opening in the relational politics of Latin America.

BRAZIL: The paper Fohla de S Paulo compares the inauguration speech of Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva (2003) and the Obama overture of 2009 in which he also promises to rebuild his country as world leader. In his weekly radio address," Coffee with the President", Lula da Silva urges the new US administration to lift the Cuban embargo. He mentions the US alliance with the military dictatorships installed on the South American continent since the 60's. Brazilians hope for solid democracy and development under Obama's administration.

CHILE: In the summer heat of the southern hemisphere, there was much to feast about, President Michele Bachelet, told an eager audience that she intended to reinforce strong ties with the US. The large American immigrant population found the dollar up and the stock market down by morning, not to dampen spirits at all.

CHINA: The Chinese are in the course of direct economic impact, so their position seems somewhat less optimistic than most. The word "crisis" crops up in the media and casts

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