Help Wanted: Leader of the Free World

Barack Obama’s victory speech in Chicago on the night of November 4th left a lump in the throats of many observers of U.S. politics: the touching account of the country’s past, as seen through the eyes of Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106-year-old African American. The clarion call to make the promise of change a reality.

While Americans now consider what Obama’s election means for them, the rest of us wait for the first glimpses of what it means for the world. As Canadians, we do this from two perspectives: as neighbours who co-manage a long and undefended border and a common economic space, and as co-participants in a larger international system that desperately needs enhanced cooperation to tackle the planet’s toughest environmental, security and economic challenges. What temperament should we bring to the Obama era?

Hope is a powerful and too-often underestimated force in politics. Moreover, we should not be afraid of embracing optimism when warranted. After...