2008: The death of democracy on Khama's bayonet

Unless the current financial recession degenerates into a major depression the Obama election will pale all the other events into insignificance. Obama's election is historic owing to the fact that he is the first minority -read black- to be elected to the oval office.

Given the chequered political history of slavery and the uneasy race relations in the United States, this is a major achievement that has the potential to significantly improve race relations, not only in the US, but around the world.