Alliance Youth Chair Stephen Martin today hailed the historic election of Senator Barack Obama as President of the United States.
 
Speaking following Alliance Youth’s highly successful Election Night Party, the Lisburn man commented: “I remember sitting up to the small hours watching the 2004 Democratic Convention when Barack Obama, a little known State Senator from Illinois, gave his now famous ‘One America’ speech.  It was clear right from that moment that the man who would soon win a resounding victory in his race to be a US Senator had the ability to inspire by his very words a whole generation of young Americans from every background to get involved.’
 
“In the years since his election to the US Senate, the President-elect has time and again illustrated his ability to bring people together.  President-elect Obama’s primary victory over Senator Hillary Clinton, who has been a stalwart of the Northern Ireland peace process and to whom together with her husband the people of Northern Ireland owe a debt of gratitude, was a sign of a changing of the guard in American politics.  
 
“The 2008 American election may very well go down as a water-shed moment in world history. We have major global issues ranging from the economic crisis, climate change, stalled global trade talks, international development and the so-called ‘War on Terror’. It often puts our problems here at home into perspective. Surely our politicians can get on with the job that we sent them to do at Stormont and get down to business by bringing us together and working towards a united community.”
 
“I am delighted to send our International Liberal Youth colleagues in the Young Democrats of America our warmest congratulations on the election of Barack Obama and their gains in the US Congress.”