US President Barack Obama’s re-election will be welcomed in Bermuda, where his story and message of unity remain compelling.Although it can be argued from an economic point of view that a President Romney would have been more helpful to Bermuda in terms of tax policy and the Republicans tendency to be more friendly towards international financial centres, President Obama’s overall approach is also important to Bermuda.The fact that an African American can be elected as President of the United States is one thing. But as CNN commentator David Gergen noted, it is perhaps more remarkable that he can be re-elected. It says a great deal about the progress the United States has made since its days of segregation that this can happen. Of course, it is also notable that America’s demographics are changing; the time is not far off when white Americans will not be the majority in that country.But the overall lesson remains. The son of an African father and a white American mother can become leader of what is still the most powerful nation on earth. It is a singular achievement, and its meaning for a small island that has experienced its own racial problems and has a black majority population is incalculable.That does not mean that President Obama’s record is perfect. Given the high hopes of the 2008 campaign, he has disappointed, but it is hard to see how he could not have done otherwise given the extraordinary and perhaps unfair expectations heaped on him then.And it must also be remembered that he inherited a series of problems that few presidents have faced on coming to office — an economy in free fall, not one but two wars, and myriad other problems at home and abroad.The economy is now in a mild recovery and the US is disentangling itself from its foreign commitments, although both Iraq and Afghanistan face uncertain futures, so there have been achievements.Still, there’s a sense that more could have been achieved, both in terms of economic restructuring and a less tentative foreign policy. This is still possible in the second term, although he will likely become a lame duck after the midterm elections in 2014.President Obama was helped as well by a Republican campaign that missed opportunities and stumbled unnecessarily. The Republicans have been taken over by a zealous faction that requires its candidates to pass political purity cases of such severity that they now have very little appeal to moderates. Given that, it’s extraordinary that the general election was as close as it was.There are lessons there for Bermuda’s political parties. President Obama’s 2008 campaign tapped into a deep dissatisfaction with divisive politics and tried to establish a better way. That his administration failed to do that can be blamed on the system as much as it can on a particular party. And the fact it has not been successful, does not mean the effort should not be made.For Bermuda, the upcoming general election will be won in the middle. Both parties may well appeal to their solid support to ensure that they turn out the vote, but it will be won in a handful of marginal constituencies where swing voters will have an outsize say on who forms the next government. It is not an overstatement to see St George’s as Bermuda’s Ohio or Florida.Regrettably, the US election was marked by negative campaigning on both sides, and a tendency to turn molehills into mountains.Bermuda’s general election is already showing signs of going the same way, but it is not too late for both parties to fight campaigns on the issues and to give voters a reasonable choice.