By the time people read this, the United States of America will have a new president. There are, of course, two candidates to vote for in this highly politically polarised nation. There will, of course, be only one winner. The polls were last night showing Barack Obama to be ahead, but this political game is always full of surprises. Regardless of the outcome – whether it is the Democrats or the Republicans who are elected, the US needs a change of policy.

The credit crunch and international feeling towards the US have seriously undermined its position as the only global superpower. The current policies are completely unsustainable and have done nothing to help the image of the United States around the world. Accept it or not, the United States has another Vietnam on its hands with the situation in Iraq. Except it is not only Iraq, the US has troops deployed in conflicts around the world which, quite frankly, it should never have entered. The US has also ploughed billions of dollars into defence (or aggression) and this bubble has eventually burst. Government spending on the military will have boosted the economy in the past, but the recurring expenditure of war has seriously drained the coffers. The average American knows this and is yearning for change.

The first thing the new President will have to deal with once the handover (a lengthy process) is complete, is to continue to stimulate the US economy which is teetering on the edge of recession. In order to do this, the President will have to revitalise the production part of the economy, while at the same time scaling back military spending. If one spends more on the military, one will eventually have to go to war – that is something that would be catastrophic for the US Government, both in terms of internal perception by its own citizens and the perception of the world in general.

Key areas that need drastic attention are those of the liquidity crisis, foreign policy, healthcare and the war on terror and the way in which it is being carried out. The campaign has been long and hard. The debates though, were very mild in comparison with some of the mammoth ones of the recent past with George W Bush and Bill Clinton. The campaign itself was a very negative one, with both Presidential hopefuls swiping at each other throughout. However, it seems that when Barack Obama switched tack and focused on the matters relevant to the people, the jibes, insinuations were like water off a duck’s back – especially the terrorist links allegation put forward by Sarah Palin. One must say that if Senator McCain loses, a good portion of the blame must go to Mrs Palin. Gaffe after gaffe and scandal after scandal, her behaviour seems to have lost the Republican Party a lot of votes.

We should wake up to a new dawn today and that will bring with it a new US President. It might be the pragmatic and likeable Vietnam veteran John McCain, or it could be Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States of America.

Whatever the case may be, the US as we know it will change. It has to. It must reinvent itself and the Whitehouse must recapture its sense of global importance and the reputation of fighting for those who truly need it – not simply going off on jaunts to export democracy.