ABC's Jim Sciutto: Obama Has 'Captured the World's Heart'

"Good Morning America" foreign correspondent Jim Sciutto rhapsodized about international reaction to Barack Obama's victory on Wednesday and described the president-elect as "the winner who's capturing the world's heart." Sciutto described much of the foreign response with the phrase "only in America."

Then, taking a shot at President Bush, he then added, "That's what we keep hearing in so many places around the world, a sense that Barack Obama embodies the American dream, a dream that, frankly, has been tarnished overseas in recent years by a very unpopular war in Iraq, a very unpopular president in President Bush."

After highlighting the joyous reaction around the world, Sciutto summed the glowing critique up by reading an e-mail from an Italian woman received in ABC's Rome bureau. He recited, "Dear friends, your country has renewed faith that all is possible. Welcome back, American dream." Sciutto closed by asserting, "It's that kind of emotion around the world now." Co-host Robin Roberts concurred, "It's that kind of emotion, Jim."

The MRC's Brent Baker noted a similar sentiment during the election night coverage on MSNBC. In the early morning of November 5, reporter Donna Friesen exclaimed, "It's not an overstatement to say that this is what the world wanted."

A transcript of the segment, which aired at 8:02am on November 5, follows:

ROBIN ROBERTS: And, Diane, as many people were saying, The world was watching America last night. And you can see, a lot of international press still here today at Grant Park because all eyes were on the new president-elect of the United States of America, Barack Obama. So, what does this mean, worldwide? Well, our senior foreign correspondent, Jim Sciutto, he has a world's eye view from London this morning. Good morning, Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO: Good morning, Robin. Only in America. That's what we keep hearing in so many places around the world, a sense that Barack Obama embodies the American dream, a dream that, frankly, has been tarnished overseas in recent years by a very unpopular war in Iraq, a very unpopular president in President Bush. But there's clearly something different, something special, even without knowing a lot about him, that many overseas people see in Barack Obama. It was an election that captured the world's attention, now, with the winner who's capturing the world's heart.

UNIDENTIFIED FOREIGN REPORTER: Dream comes true. America has its first black president, as Barack Obama-

SCIUTTO: There was praise from world leaders.

HAMID KARZAI: I applaud the American people for their courage and for the great morality that they showed.

SCIUTTO: And from average people.

CROWDS: Obama! Obama!

SCIUTTO: From Pakistan-

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have once again shown that and proved that the USA is the land of all possibilities.

SCIUTTO: To Italy.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I think he'll make a better president. He's younger. He's very exciting.

SCIUTTO: To U.S. soldiers on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: And I feel like, it's change because it's an African-American.

SCIUTTO: With Obama's international upbringing, the celebration overseas was often very personal. This was the scene at the school he attended as a child in Indonesia.

SECOND UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm speechless. I'm very grateful. Thank God for him that finally he reached- achieved what he's been seeking all this time.

SCIUTTO: And nowhere was it more emotional than in his father's home village in Kenya. Alma [sic] is Obama's half-sister.

MAYA SOETORO-NG: I mean, I did have somebody come in and say, ooh. I'm going to shake the hand of the lady who is mentioned by of the president of the United States of America.

SCIUTTO: We thought the excitement was embodied by this e-mail received in our Rome bureau from a Italian woman. It said "Dear friends, your country has renewed faith that all is possible. Welcome back American dream." It's that kind of emotion around the world now. Robin?

ROBERTS: It is that kind of emotion, Jim. Thank you so much.