Barack Obama Looks Like a Likely Next President

Having sat up until 2:26 a.m. GMT to follow the US election, it now looks very likely that Barack Obama will become the next President of the United States of America.

I just wish that Jesse Jackson would shut up about this being a racial issue and the idea that every country in the world should now elect a black candidate. Finally, the US has entered the modern age and no longer looks at race as an issue (like the rest of the first world has done for years). It is about electing the BEST candidate for the job.

Now the question becomes what Barack Obama will do in order to solve the following issues:
- The economy (will he be an isolationist/protectionist?)
- Foreign policy
- The wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
- Healthcare (lest we all forget the ill-fated Clinton attempt at solving this)
- Ecology/climate change

There are still outstanding questions about Obama's complete lack of executive experience so the importance of assembling a very strong team around him becomes even more apparent, particularly on issues such as the economy, environment, armed forces, foreign policy and healthcare. I wish the new administration the best of luck and hope that they succeed in helping the global economy and promote the idea of a more stable global political system, but really am worried about the potential isolationism which might be displayed by Obama once he is in office. For the last 65 years, the United States have seen themselves as playing the role of global police officer and if they suddenly start reverting to the Monroe Doctrine of isolationism, I wonder how the rest of the G8 countries as well as the developing world would look on that.