Obama brings hope to market

When the thermometer dips to freezing, the snowbirds head South. Being a true native Floridian, when the temperature was expected to dip to freezing, I took the cue from my Northern friends and headed South -- to South America. To summertime, to long hot days, to sunsets at 8 p.m.

Meeting select Americans who serve our country at this southern tip of the world, I found their perspective of the United States insightful. Whether Democrat or Republican, the support of the new president, Barack Obama, is incredible. Views from outside the U.S. resonate the uplifting nature of a new beginning, a fresh start for the United States of America.

Positive in the economy, positive in housing, positive in the American dream. A woman in Montevideo, Uruguay, asked me, "You are an American?" When I nodded and smiled, she continued, " 'We' have a new president of the world. When the United States elects a president, he becomes the president of the world." How powerful, I thought, "president of the world."

Although we in Brevard County have not suffered as severely as the rest of our nation, as the temperatures dip to give us a taste of the cold, we have felt but a taste of the tough economy.
Soon the sun will warm us, the beaches and rivers will come alive with activity, sending a positive flurry to our housing market -- the basis of our economy. Interest rates are fluctuating at times lower than 5 percent.

We look forward, with hope, to the new president and an upswing in our economy. The world is watching.