South Africa looks to the U.S. for political hope

In the morning after the U.S. election, the host of a popular morning radio show broke down repeatedly as she took calls and emails about Obama, and she says it’s given her hope for her own country. Many South Africans say they’re proud to see a man of African descent become the leader of the U.S., but this South African lawyer says it’s more than that. He says it makes him believe that the world’s perception of blacks is changing and it gives him hope that other countries could elect blacks to leading positions. Many South Africans feel they indirectly had a hand in Obama’s victory because of Mandela, the world’s first democratically elected black president. But many South Africans were also impressed with McCain’s gracious acceptance of defeat, and this man wishes South African politicians would take cues from that speech. South African politics have become more tense as of late after the ANC recently broke off into two parties.