The AP is saying that Obama won the election in an Electoral College landslide. A what? What the heck is an Electoral College landslide other than over-the-top journalistic rhetoric? Strafor is more reserved, and hence why I prefer them, and say he won a “solid majority” of the popular vote but nowhere near a landslide and that his Electoral College win was “decisive”.

Stratfor goes on to point out that, in effect, now it is time for Obama to perform. They discuss his statement that he will withdraw from Iraq but he does not have a timeframe nor does he discuss how this will work with Saudi Arabia or Iran. They ask, can he offer Iran anything that will cause them to accept Iraq as a neutral government serving as a buffer between Iran and Saudi Arabia? They state:

“What is important is that Obama, having won the election, will now have to face a range of foreign policy issues that will challenge his ideology and policies, and where his personality will matter little. He will be dealing with people like Vladimir Putin, Hu Jintao and Angela Merkel, none of whom are swayed by charisma and all of whom govern countries with interests very different than those of the United States.”

Yes indeed. Now it is not charisma and charm, it is the real world.