America and Change

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On the night before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. mesmerized a Memphis, Tenn., congregation with an address in which he said, "I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land" [Nov. 17]. On election night we watched as Americans from Virginia, home of the capital of the Confederacy, to California voted for a President not on the basis of the color of his skin but on the content of his character. Now we know what King saw from the mountaintop. We have overcome.
Alan B. Posner, ROYAL OAK, MICH., U.S.

Now that we've brought "change" by giving even more power to the party that forced bad loans and obstructed Fannie Mae reform while driving jobs overseas, it should not take long for Barack Obama to set the record straight on which party is actually pushing the "failed policies of the past." The only question is whether he will be able to continue blaming Republicans for the disastrous policies of Democrats.
Robert Moon, CINCINNATI, OHIO, U.S.

During John McCain's gracious concession speech, he had to pause to quiet his supporters as they booed at the mention of Obama's name. If McCain had conducted his campaign with the grace and honor he showed in defeat instead of stirring up the worst instincts among his party's right-wing base, the outcome of the election might have been different.
Bernadette Pruitt, WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, U.S.

I just turned 18 before this election. I did not follow politics at all and held some racist views. I volunteered briefly for Obama, knowing he offered the change our country needs. I now feel proud to have been part of this exciting milestone.
Lauren K. Cichon, ST. JOSEPH, MICH.,U.S.

I now have two heroes: J.K. Rowling, who made my children readers, and Obama, who made them voters.
Charles Hirschhorn, PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIF., U.S.

To the supporters of California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage: 1963 called — it wants its bigotry back.
Julie Heinze, SAN CLEMENTE, CALIF., U.S.

All of a sudden the media realizes what a disaster George W. Bush has been, not only for his country but for the whole world. Bush's incompetence should have been obvious from the very beginning of his cataclysmic presidency, and yet 
 nobody talked of impeachment even after it had become evident that the Administration lied about its motives to go to war. Bill Clinton almost lost his presidency because of an affair! It makes me sick to think that Bush will stay in office until Jan. 20. Remove him now, and let Obama start to repair the damage that has been inflicted on the U.S. and the rest of the world. Those eight years under Bush have not only been wasted, they have reversed the geopolitical evolution of the 
 human race.
Alexander Schneider, BRIXLEGG, AUSTRIA

Obviously Obama has heard the old adage about friends in Washington and went and bought a dog.
Pat Nolan, KILKENNY, IRELAND

The international verdict on the Bush presidency is clear: the victory of Obama has already brought more relief to the world than the fall of Saddam Hussein ever did.
Paul Wigelius, STOCKHOLM