Tag Archive for 'obama'

Yes, we can!

Published
on Wednesday 5 November 2008
. Closed

Congratulations to Barack Obama on a stunning victory!

This is such a breathtaking achievement. Only in America could the disastrous George W Bush have been made president eight years ago — but only in America could this be redeemed by the election of Mr Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.

What a man he is: Coming from a background spanning religions, ethnicity, and geography, Mr Obama himself embodies the best in the world. In a world of fear, Mr Obama ran on a campaign of hope. And as if to demonstrate the way he will lead as President, he inspired a groundbreaking grassroots campaign by the people, of the people.

And what a historic victory this is: Americans have turned out to vote in unprecedented numbers, with the disaffected reengaging in the political process. Friends of America around the world can now breathe a collective sigh of relief that the American public can be trusted to choose the right leader; and a renewed faith in an America that is prepared to serve as a benign superpower. Meanwhile, enemies of America should now find it a lot more difficult to pigeonhole America as the “Great Satan” and will have to (grudgingly) find ways of working constructively with the world.

Perhaps, Mr Obama himself said it best in his victory speech:

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

Of course, the victory is only the beginning: The “change” that Mr Obama inspires requires the long-term participation of all, friend and enemy. With the world faced with unprecedented challenges with the economy, global resources, and war, we need the very best in the world that Mr Obama represents.

“This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: yes, we can.”

Celebrity.

Published
on Monday 1 September 2008
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A while ago, the McCain campaign ran an advertisement comparing Barack Obama to Paris Hilton. It backfired, as none other than Paris Hilton herself made a response that was better than the original.

So, with all the revelations about Sarah Palin coming out, McCain’s decision looks increasingly odd, because Palin herself is becoming much of a celebrity herself, for all the wrong reasons:

Nevertheless, it is unclear how this will affect the outcome in November at all though:

  • Traditional Republican voters will still probably prefer McCain/Palin over Obama/Biden, as Palin does what she says — she upholds her ‘family values’ image in her support of Bristol in continuing with the pregnancy and to marry the young man, Levi;
  • ‘Swing’ voters (including those who would have supported Hillary) might not be too concerned about the whole episode anyway; and
  • It’s not as if Obama’s vice presidential choice, Joe Biden, a Roman Catholic, would have supported anything different from Palin anyway.

But back to the original matter, it strikes me as rather ironic that a few months after claiming that Obama was inexperienced and all, and claiming that Obama was too much of a celebrity, McCain then goes on to select a governor with far less experience of any kind, with news stories emerging daily resembling something from the Spears family more than what one would expect from someone who is chosen to be second in command for the world’s most powerful nation.

I wonder what’s next.

Would the many skeletons in Palin’s closet sink the McCain campaign?

Or, will straight-talk McCain plus nothing-to-hide Palin increase trust in voters in a way the Obama campaign has so far failed to do?

Veepstakes

Published
on Friday 29 August 2008
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While Democrat Barack Obama - criticized for being too young and inexperienced to be president at 47 - chose an experienced 65 year old Joe Biden to be his Vice President, Republican John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his Vice President - a candidate who is even younger than Obama at just 44.

All of this is rather interesting: Obama’s campaign is about ‘change’, and has been painting McCain as being part of the establishment, and nevertheless chooses a candidate who has been in the American Senate longer than most; while McCain, whose campaign has been painting Obama as inexperienced and unready to lead, then goes on to choose a candidate that has far less experience than Obama, and goes on to claim how Palin will regenerate Washington.

Palin is a particularly interesting candidate because of her broad appeal — she is not only a mother of five with a son in the army, but has a socially conservative voting record as well. In contrast, Biden will somewhat appeal to the white working class men for whom Obama seems too out-of-touch, but was picked mainly to counter claims that Obama lacked foreign policy experience.

It’s clear that the American presidential elections this November will be very close, and incredibly interesting to watch indeed…