According to Yeni Şafak's Kürşat Bumin, the most meaningful aspect of Obama's election is the fact that a society that has until very recently witnessed bitter examples of racial discrimination has remade itself in just 40 years to send a black presidential nominee to the White House. He concedes that Obama's promises about Iran and Afghanistan, his setting of 2011 as the withdrawal date from Iraq and his support for Armenian allegations of genocide are important; however, Bumin says, "The outcome of a black president at the White House is more eye-catching than all the other things."
Milliyet's Hasan Cemal terms the election of a black president to the White House "a revolution." He thinks that Obama taking over the post as the first African-American president is a thrilling event that will trigger cultural changes not only in US politics but also all over the world, breaking prejudices and reforming thinking about skin color. "I find this really exhilarating," reiterates Cemal. In his view, the reason Obama got so much support is because he represents renewal and youth; he catches the sprit of the age and gives hopes about a change in leadership.
Radikal's İsmet Berkan also mentions that the election of a black man to the White House was something that could not have even be dreamt about until very recently, given the fact that slavery was written into the US Constitution, a civil war took place in the country for the abolishment of slavery and a remarkable struggle occurred to abolish racial discrimination. Berkan says now heated debates will take place about whether Obama will be able to make the changes he promised, but he thinks the election of an African-American to the White House is already a big change and it will take some time to come to terms with this.
Hürriyet's Cüneyt Ülsever thinks as a leader who belongs to the black minority, Obama winning the US presidential election by getting a majority of votes from white voters is not only a success for US democracy but also a promising development for everyone who cares about democracy. Nevertheless, he says Obama's victory will be the biggest obstacle for him in his first months in office. It will be not only black citizens who experience discrimination in the US, but also all black people around the world who will have high expectations of him. "People will expect him to correct all the things that are wrong in the world in a day. How he copes with these expectations will determine his leadership performance. One of the biggest troubles he could experience is a transformation of expectation into disappointment," says Ülsever.
