World leaders rushed to congratulate Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday following his historic victory in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
And across the globe, people in city squares and villages, living rooms and shacks cheered his success, boosting hopes that America's first black commander-in-chief might herald a less aggressive approach to the rest of the world.
Many were amazed and jubilant that the United States could beat racial divisions and send an African-American -- and one with Hussein as a middle name -- to the White House.
"What an inspiration. He is the first truly global U.S. president the world has ever had," Pracha Kanjananont, a 29-year-old Thai sitting at a Starbucks in Bangkok, told The Associated Press.
"He had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is a truly global president