<B>By Nicholas RAINER</B>

It took a five-month-long struggle, but he?s finally done it. He, of course, is Barack Obama, the man most people hope will help pull the US out of the abyss of cynicism, dishonesty and incompetence that the Bush administration so wantonly dragged it into. Gracious in victory, the young senator from Illinois told an ecstatic 20 000-strong crowd in Minnesota that the Democratic Party and the US ?are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honour to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton?.

For Obama, the real battle begins now though. He will have to take on the Republican nominee, wily old John McCain, and the mud-slinging tactics espoused by the GOP. He will undoubtedly be able to count on a groundswell of support from the young and the educated in his quest to become the first African-American to occupy the Oval Office (although Nobel laureate Toni Morrison did famously refer to Bill Clinton as the ?first black president?).

Whatever the outcome of the presidential elections in November, Mother Nature will certainly be glad to see the back of George W. Bush. His mandate marked an unprecedented nadir in the way the State treats the environment. Drilling for oil in an Arctic reserve, spurning the Kyoto Protocol and censoring federal climate scientists on global warming are but a few examples of the disdain for all things green demonstrated by the environmentally-challenged Texan and his neocon cronies.

Today being World Environment Day (the theme of which is the strikingly opposite ?Kick the CO2 Habit?), let us spare a thought for the creatures great and small that have to share this planet with greedy slobs like us and perhaps even eschew some of our more wasteful practices. Hopefully, a tsunami of change is on its way; not only in the White House, but in the hearts and minds of people everywhere.

Speaking of waves, the Pay Research Bureau report has certainly created a few of its own. It might?ve taken more than 100 days, but the State?s largesse towards the country?s public servants will indeed change their lives for the better. All the more so since it has come at a time when the cost of living is becoming prohibitive for those at the foot of the social ladder. It?s nice to see the authorities taking a lead in improving people?s lives, rather than simply paying lip service to ?world-class? this and ?world-class? that. Ideally, it?ll spur the private sector into doing the same for its employees.

During a question and answer session a few weeks ago, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin expounded on the need for companies to treat their employees decently. ?The best leaders take care of people, listen to people. Business is about making a difference to people?s lives.? Admittedly, it?s easier to admire the iconic entrepreneur?s vision and magnanimity than to actually emulate it. However, it should not stop our business leaders from at least making efforts in that direction.