The US election

I raised a few eyebrows when in the early days of the US Presidential election process I praised Mr Obama’s rhetoric and campaigning ability. It has carried him a long way, and may propel him into the White House in tomorrow’s poll.

Most people in the UK – and the rest of Europe – are keen that he wins. I do not share the excitement of so many, as I do not see in either candidate a new approach to the world economic crisis that offers us hope.

The worst moment of the whole process was when the two Presidential rivals turned up in the Oval office and meekly endorsed the Paulson/Bush plan to squander billions on stressed banks. The plan fell at the first political hurdle in Congress despite the support of the President and both challengers. It has now failed to bring rapid improvement to damaged Amercian markets, but is beginning to impose a huge strain on US finances.

I would like change. I want quicker change in the US/UK approach to the Middle east than we are being offered. Above all I want change in the way the authorities handle the financial crisis – change to a policy which recognises there are distinct limits to what taxpayers can afford. Mr Obama shows no sign of understanding that.

8 Comments

  1. Stuart Fairney
    November 3, 2008

    If Obama does win and I'm not as convinced as the pollsters, it will be because of what Sean Hannity called "the death of American Journalism" Obama's flaws have been ignored;(Series of personal allegations taken out as I cannot check them all out -ed)
    His policies which amount to tax cuts, deficit reductions and comprehensive medical care for all are financially mutually exclusive, his judgement is nonsensical, Iran is/isn't a threat depending on who he is talking to and he's not overly fond of the second amendment (but be sure his guards will be armed to the teeth it's just everyone else he wants to disarm). Also, pulling out of Iraq will prove way more difficult than he thinks.

    In short, if he does win, politics per se, has ended and they are now electing the X-factor/pop idol president. He will enjoy all the success of Jimmy Carter being equally competent.

    For all the religous nut-jobs cluttering up the Republicans and McCain's apparent frailness, I'm hoping for McCain/Palin. Mrs Palin incidentally, despite all the slurs is the only leading politician about to see her own children deploy in Iraq. I'm guessing we won't see Euan Blair there anytime soon, showing Tony was happy to send other people's children to war, Mrs Palin will send her own. This should probably tell us something.

    1. Stuart Fairney
      November 4, 2008

      (Series of personal allegations taken out as I cannot check them all out -ed)

      Nothing Fox didn't report and none denied by the Obama campaign but point noted for future reference

  2. Brian Tomkinson
    November 3, 2008

    JR: "I praised Mr Obama’s rhetoric and campaigning ability"

    To so many these seem to be Obama's main appeal, along with being the first Afro-American presidential candidate. His approach reminds me of one Tony Blair and we all know to our cost what resulted from his election.

  3. APL
    November 3, 2008

    "The US election"

    BBC coverage therof illustrates the gross waste and mismanagement at the BBC.

    How many correspondents do they need in the US to cover the election? How many for comparrison sake do SKY have?

    Regardless of their efficiency or otherwise, they have a pro Obama bias built in to all their reports.

  4. rose
    November 3, 2008

    I agree with APL. We already knew the BBC was going to be first of all pro- Hillary and then pro-Obama. We knew they would loathe Mrs Palin and keep mum about Biden. We knew they would write off Bush and anyone associated with him. We knew there would be no serious discussion of the economy or foreign policy. Why have we had to spend so much on the illustration of their shallow and entirely predictable approach?

    A Kenyan student abandoned his Kansas girlfriend and their baby. That baby grew up into an attractive young man after having been brought up by her and her parents. Now we are told he is "Black" and must therefore be the next leader of the Free World, for the sake of "change", and that if the Americans don't do what their media masters and ours have been telling them to do, then they are "racists". I seem to remember early on in the brainwashing process hearing real African Americans, who bore the full history of slavery on their shoulders, protest that he was not one of them. Where then is the "racism" in all of this? And what do you call saying you must vote for someone because he had a Kenyan father, and not because he has a clear idea of what to do to save his country and the world from poverty and war? The most alarming thought in all of this is that Iran may test him in a way they might not his opponent. And who can forget the number of wars the things-can-only-get-better brigade landed us in after 1997?

    The good thing about him is his temperament. Should he win, one can only hope he will be able to call on the very best advice and have the self control to act on it, whatever the fashionable world is saying at the time.

  5. Will S
    November 3, 2008

    I agree with your views on the candidates. Perhaps you should urge your readers to vote Libertarian, John? The US needs a viable third party.

  6. adam
    November 3, 2008

    Go Palin!

  7. jean baker
    November 4, 2008

    Brian Tomkinson – Obama exudes integrity and leadership qualities. Only the gullible fell for Blair's shallowness and spin when he was elected …… the results speak for themselves – loss of national identity and democratic rights for English natives; a morally and financially bankrupt Britain.

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