“As part of the American political family, the people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands join the nation in recognizing this significant and momentous occasion in our nation’s history,” states the resolution that Senate President Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, sponsored.
Americans, including those in the CNMI, are optimistic that the Obama administration can bring about changes in the nation’s dismal economic situation, the resolution stated.
“The people of the commonwealth are hopeful that positive and productive change will take place in our nation’s capital and throughout the world,” the resolution added.
Sen. Paul Manglona, R-Saipan and the longest serving lawmaker of the CNMI, said Obama, the first African-American U.S. president, may be the nation’s needed “stimulus.”
“As you know I am a Republican but actually I have been cheering for Obama from day one. For me, he represents the change that needs to take place in government,” he told Variety.
The senator said Obama’s background gives him an insight about the challenges facing islanders like those living in the Northern Marianas.
“I think he speaks for the middle class, for the common people. I think that’s what got him the presidency.President-Elect Obama can be looked up as an islander. Having been born and raised in Hawaii, we look at him as an islander and I think he would be in a position to understand better the conditions out here,” he said.
