The 2008 American presidential election represents nothing less than a watershed event in world history. It’s a moment of political and cultural truth for the American public and—as the reaction to Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin last summer made clear—an unprecedented opportunity for everyone else on the planet too.

Electing Barack Obama will not be automatic, though, and the alternative is unthinkable. If American voters elect John McCain, any goodwill the United States could possibly muster moving forward from the current disastrous era will be utterly destroyed. Maybe forever. For a thousand reasons there should be absolutely no question about the choice that must be made this November. But there is. As a friend said to me recently, “I can’t believe it’s even a race!”

Of course differences between the candidates in 2004 were clear too. Campaign tactics used by the Republicans against John Kerry were brutal and the result shocked everyone who believed the country could turn the page even then on what has become the most regrettable period in post-Civil War American history.

When Americans elected George W. Bush to a second term the explanation that he had somehow stolen the election, which was clearly the case the first time around, no longer carried any weight. An obsolete and broken system may have gotten Bush elected the first time but the second time was on us. Or should I say “on them.” The 2004 election set Americans against each other in a very serious way.

Electing Bush for the first term was an embarrassing national stumble (with devastating consequences) that could only be comprehended as an ill-considered reaction to the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the last stages of Bill Clinton’s tenure. Electing Bush the second time can be considered nothing less than a national disgrace. It discouraged and depressed people all over the world and reinforced the worst possible image of our country abroad.

The only way the United States and the world will be able to recover from that ruinous blow is to decisively elect Barack Obama president in November.

It’s long past time for the United States to stop positioning itself against the rest of the world. Barack Obama is the right person to make that happen. We need exactly what he represents: a multiracial, culturally aware, bright, calm, and cool alternative to the shameful cast of characters that have been imposing their will on the world over the past eight years. “Citizen of the world,” a title that has been used disparagingly by Obama’s detractors, is precisely what we need in the next President of the United States.