San Francisco resembled a New Year’s Eve celebration on the night of Nov. 4, when Barack Obama was announced the victor in a historic race for the presidency.

I was on campus that night, breathlessly watching the election results alongside other students, at the exact moment when television news proclaimed him the winner. Champagne bottles were popped open and screams of joy pierced the air. It was apparent that all over campus—and all over the city, I soon learned—people were ecstatic and full of hope, certain that change had dawned upon the country in the person of Barack Obama.

Obama’s victory was drawn by the greatest percentage of the national vote by a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In SF State alone, an exit poll showed that among 554 respondents, 91 percent voted for Obama.

A nation torn and exhausted from an economic recession, a pointless war and numerous other social and political issues under the Bush administration was obviously ready for fresh leadership.

The excitement and enthusiasm even spread to foreign shores. According to CNN, French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote Obama shortly after the election, “Your election raises in Europe, and beyond throughout the world, immense hope.” Similar statements from other world leaders clearly show that the president-elect will enjoy a great deal of goodwill from all over the globe when he takes office on Jan. 20.

His national and global appeal is about more than the fact that he is a Democrat or that he is African American. Much of it also comes from the fact that he is, simply, not President Bush, who has had very low popularity ratings.

Sky-high hopes and expectations abound our new president-elect. Now what supporters and opponents all around the world want to know is, will he able to meet them?

Obama enters leadership at a time when the public’s trust in the government is at an all-time low. Pre-election polls showed that only 17 percent of voters trusted the government most of the time, according to the Boston Globe.

He will enter the presidency with a plateful of burdens, inheriting a complex web of domestic and international issues from the previous administration. Among these are wars in the Middle East, a demoralizing economic crisis and tensions with Iran and Russia; after the passing of Proposition 8, even same-sex couples are looking to him for hope and support for their right to marriage.

Promises made during his campaign, ranging from health care to tax cuts to alternative energy programs, resound in the ears of hopeful Americans.

“We are all assuming that Obama will have more power than he actually will as president,” SF State student Shannon Messerly said.

It’s important to remember that for all his strengths and qualifications, Obama is just one man. Indeed, one man can do a lot. But in the face of such daunting tasks, it’s essential to note that when things don’t improve instantly, or in the occasion that Obama will fail to deliver on some of his many promises, it’s not the end of the world for all of us who believe in him and hope for a better America.

Change will not happen overnight, and the responsibility for change (as well the blame when change does not happen) should not rest on one’s man shoulders alone. It can be very dangerous when the morale of the country depends on a man perceived to be a modern-day political messiah.

When reality sets in and national circumstances continue to be difficult, will we able to still stand behind our president and still believe for change? Or will the hopes of many end if he doesn’t fulfill his promises?

“The road ahead will be long,” said the president-elect in his victory speech. “Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.”