America's initiation of a disastrous war in Iraq raised questions about the U.S. commitment to freedom. Guantanamo prison made a mockery of American justice. And where was equality in a country filled with reports of discrimination against minorities? For some in countries like China where I live, America had become the example of why democracy doesn't work.

U.S. voters showed the world that American democracy does work. The choice of a black man, the son of a Muslim, as the next U.S. president, restored hope that America can be an example to the rest of the world. The breaking of racial barriers signaled America was capable of change.

The U.S. needs the respect and cooperation of other nations if it is to resolve the wars it is fighting and the economic crisis at hand. Now that American voters have helped lay the groundwork for restoring this respect, it is up to the President-elect to act. Indeed in his acceptance speech, Obama reassured voters that America is still a place where the dream of its founders is alive and its democracy powerful. How these words translate into policy will be the question for the next four years.