ELEANOR HALL: Barack Obama talks a lot about sort of big change and what sort of revolution do you expect him to deliver in the United States if he does become president?
FRANCIS FUKUYAMA: That is an interesting question because I think that one of our problems in the United States is that the existing polarisation has gotten very debilitating, where you cannot talk about certain issues like raising taxes or starting a program in investing in infrastructure without this being cast in this old ideological debate. So I think that he probably has got a better chance at trying to forge a different kind of rhetoric. Different ways of thinking about that.
ELEANOR HALL: Do you expect to see a real shift in America? In 10 years' time will it be a very different place if Barack Obama is elected?
FRANCIS FUKUYAMA: I think the shift will happen regardless of who is elected. I think that the politics of the country is going to be different. I think in tone and certainly in terms of the international perception of the United States, if you elected someone like Obama, it is really going to be really quite something I think to witness and I think that is why a lot of people would like to see him as president because it symbolises the ability of the United States really in some way to renew itself in a very unexpected way.
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