Is Obama the man?
By Zhen Ming
MR Barack Obama, the 47-year-old senator from Illinois, is the man of the moment. He has made history, the media claims, as the first African-American major-party nominee for US President. (Never mind that he's actually multi-racial.)
On Thursday, he accepted the Democratic Party nomination, declaring that the 'American promise has been threatened' by eight years under President George Bush and that Mr John McCain represented a continuation of policies which undermined the nation's economy and imperilled its standing around the world.
If the latest CNN 'poll of polls' is to be believed, it's quite possible that Mr Obama would be elected 65 days from now.
But if worldwide public opinion mattered and if the rest of the world could vote, we would not have to even wait 65 days to find out. Mr Obama would have won by a landslide.
Asserts Mr Alan Stoga, writing for FLYP, a new online magazine that looks at the people and issues shaping America: 'That is the clear conclusion from dozens of interviews and a close reading of polls from around the world. The overwhelming dominant view is that Obama will win, and that his victory will bring dramatic, positive change to US domestic and foreign policies.'
The latest online poll by The Guardian showed that 91.3 per cent of its readers agreed that his 'I have a plan' acceptance speech was a success.
Except that Mr Obama has a formidable and wily opponent in Mr McCain, who has tapped little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice-presidential running mate.
Restore maverick reputation
The surprise pick will help Mr McCain reach out to women and restore his maverick reputation. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said Ms Palin (a former Miss Alaska 1984 runner-up) was a reminder to women, 'that if they are not welcome on the Democrats' ticket, they have a place with Republicans'.
If Mr McCain wins, America will have a woman VP for the first time.
But if Mr Obama wins (yes, he can), will he be really good for the world? What would be his top three overall priorities if elected? This is his American promise:
'My top priority as president will be ending this war in Iraq; providing universal health care to the 47 million Americans who currently do not have it will be another top priority of my administration, as will combating global warming and putting our country on the path toward energy independence.
'And all these issues share one thing in common: In order to fully address them, we have to do more than change political parties. We have to fundamentally change our politics and transform the way business is done in Washington.'
No mention of Nafta, no mention of FTAs whatsoever, at least for the time being. After all, the world can't vote in November. But it can wait - and hope for the best.
Source: The New Paper, Sun 31 Aug 2008
By Zhen Ming
MR Barack Obama, the 47-year-old senator from Illinois, is the man of the moment. He has made history, the media claims, as the first African-American major-party nominee for US President. (Never mind that he's actually multi-racial.)
On Thursday, he accepted the Democratic Party nomination, declaring that the 'American promise has been threatened' by eight years under President George Bush and that Mr John McCain represented a continuation of policies which undermined the nation's economy and imperilled its standing around the world.
If the latest CNN 'poll of polls' is to be believed, it's quite possible that Mr Obama would be elected 65 days from now.
But if worldwide public opinion mattered and if the rest of the world could vote, we would not have to even wait 65 days to find out. Mr Obama would have won by a landslide.
Asserts Mr Alan Stoga, writing for FLYP, a new online magazine that looks at the people and issues shaping America: 'That is the clear conclusion from dozens of interviews and a close reading of polls from around the world. The overwhelming dominant view is that Obama will win, and that his victory will bring dramatic, positive change to US domestic and foreign policies.'
The latest online poll by The Guardian showed that 91.3 per cent of its readers agreed that his 'I have a plan' acceptance speech was a success.
Except that Mr Obama has a formidable and wily opponent in Mr McCain, who has tapped little-known Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice-presidential running mate.
Restore maverick reputation
The surprise pick will help Mr McCain reach out to women and restore his maverick reputation. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said Ms Palin (a former Miss Alaska 1984 runner-up) was a reminder to women, 'that if they are not welcome on the Democrats' ticket, they have a place with Republicans'.
If Mr McCain wins, America will have a woman VP for the first time.
But if Mr Obama wins (yes, he can), will he be really good for the world? What would be his top three overall priorities if elected? This is his American promise:
'My top priority as president will be ending this war in Iraq; providing universal health care to the 47 million Americans who currently do not have it will be another top priority of my administration, as will combating global warming and putting our country on the path toward energy independence.
'And all these issues share one thing in common: In order to fully address them, we have to do more than change political parties. We have to fundamentally change our politics and transform the way business is done in Washington.'
No mention of Nafta, no mention of FTAs whatsoever, at least for the time being. After all, the world can't vote in November. But it can wait - and hope for the best.
Source: The New Paper, Sun 31 Aug 2008
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