In 1861, a man made the arduous journey from the log cabin to the White House. In 2008, with the victory of Barack Obama, it can be said that the entire Afro-American people have traversed the immeasurable distance between slavery and the head of the United States of America. Mr Obama’s overwhelming triumph is a small correction in the chapter on what human beings have done to other human beings in the past. The win of Mr Obama — who, like Abraham Lincoln, also comes from Illinois — represents the crowning glory of US democracy. It was apposite that Mr Obama’s victory speech was free of any kind of partisan triumphalism. He spoke instead, very movingly, about the achievements of the American people. Throughout his campaign Mr Obama spoke of the unity of the United States of America — he refused to accept the notion of a divided nation — and he ended it on the same note. In this election, undoubtedly a defining moment in the history of the US, the people of America chose to vote for radical change: they elected the first Afro-American to be president. In doing so, they also hoped to regain the moral currency that the US seemed to have lost in the very recent past.

There is another aspect to the triumph-of-democracy narrative, which is important to note in the Indian context. This was the great dignity that marked the long campaigns of both Mr Obama and his rival John McCain. Neither descended to the level of personal attacks; neither transgressed the many unwritten Queensbury rules of democracy. Thus Mr Obama’s colour of skin and Mr McCain’s age did not emerge as focal points of the tough electoral battle. This spirit was exemplified by the eloquent and poignant tribute that the president-elect paid to the sacrifice made and sufferings endured by Mr McCain for his country. Mr Obama’s acceptance had a dash of something noble, just as Mr McCain’s exit was remarkable for its grace. There are lessons here for Indian politicians, which, alas, may go largely ignored.

To win the presidency is not enough, to govern like a president with a vision is the real challenge. On Mr Obama has fallen the mantle of rescuing his country from an unprecedented economic crisis and of restoring its moral standing across the globe. The onerous and ineffable expectations vested in him may well be his principal threat. He has chosen not to cast himself in the role of a typical black politician. If he harks back inevitably to Martin Luther King, he also does consciously to Lincoln. He sees himself as a unifier, as the healer of divisions. It is a daunting task, but Mr Obama’s life shows he is no ordinary person. He could well be the man to complete the agenda of both Abe Lincoln and Martin Luther King: a white man’s vision and a black man’s dream.