We wish Bush all the best

But whether there would be any new direction in the US policies could only be clear if and when changes are made in the top posts of the US administration.

All of Bush's records in the first term read like an open book. Against that familiar backdrop, the world is keen to see how he uses his rejuvenated authority and regained electoral mandate. The expectation, however is that he will avoid the past pitfalls and deliver a quality of leadership beyond reproach. Kerry with his four years of change plank has won a measure of voter support in absolute numbers that is reflective of a divisive US electorate -- almost in the middle. This is not apparently lost on Bush who says, "I will be the president for all Americans".

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The United States as the sole superpower has a great responsibility, one that ought to go far beyond the confines of the 'war on terror'. In his second term, Bush cannot afford to remain unfocused on the issues of global poverty, trade negotiations and environment with a focus around mandatory cutting of green house emissions by the developed world, especially the US.

It is not enough for Bush to be sensitive to the internal divisiveness in the US; he is expected now to be inclusive in his attitude to the whole world abandoning his exclusionary slogan to the effect that those who are not with the US can go their way. Bush would do well to remember that just as the US public was divided on the rationale for war on Iraq so were the majority of the US' traditional allies against it, let alone the rest of the world populace demurring at the preemptive strike. The anti-America sentiments aroused by some of Bush's actions were something of a global wave, not US-bashing, so these better be assuaged for the good of America.

The free hand given to Sharon must be replaced by a balanced US approach to the Middle East which remains the major source of terrorism and violence, not just in the region but in a global sense, too.

We congratulate George W Bush and wish him all the best. His reelection is a big triumph, one that must inspire him to work for a permanent place in history.