OK first off I’m not an American citizen .. merely an avid follower of American politics. Growing up across the river from Detroit Michigan I have always watched US politics closely and I have always supported the republican parties views. Until now that is.
The world is clearly a very different place post 911 and it has never been more clear that the era of right wing republicans in the oval office is just about over. John McCain has been reduced to outrageously negative add campaigns in a last stitch effort to regain some momentum in the US election and its clearly a plan that is failing in a big way.
It is time for a new young and fresh perspective in the white house. And thats something the world has not seen in quite some time. Although Barack Obama is a democrat he is indeed a born again Christian. Yes his stance on abortion isnt quite as down the line as John McCains but as I get older I’ve begun to realize that abortion isnt quite the black and white issue I used to think it was.
Living outside North America for the past 8 years has given me a very different perspective on US politics and how the rest of the world see’s America. One thing that reigns over all the noise and hype of this election is that a lot of right wing republican Americans are not liking the way things are being handled by the current administration, and all they see in John McCain is George W. Bush Version 2.0. Most people you talk to here in Australia are of pretty much the same opinion .. they don’t want to see another George W in the oval office.
So in short .. its clearly time for some drastic changes in the way the US is governed. There economy is on the verge of collapse, there military is dangerously over stretched and public opinion of George W. Bush is currently sitting at around 63% disapproval. If those numbers are any indication we will see the first African American take the oval office.
So in a sense by supporting Barack Obama I have “jumped the isle” and to tell you the truth it wasn’t easy but its clearly time for the US to be heading in a new fresh direction. One things for sure .. I’ll be praying for Barack and his staff .. they have one mess of a country to look after once they take office. The times they are a changin!
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October 16, 2008 at 10:07 am
David Lewis
Hey Pete,
Interesting blog. I’ve been following the US election as well. As a member of the Liberal Party of Australia (if you are American and reading this, ‘liberal’ or ‘neo-liberal’ mean something different to the rest of the world than it does to an American), even I find it disturbing how far to the right (supposedly) the Republican party is. They appear to be so much entrenched in neo-liberal economics, yet have only taken on half of the economic model. They talk about free market, yet when the market collapses due to corporate greed, they pump it full of government money rather than let the free market suffer the consequences of the abuse of its own freedom.
They also believe in the privatisation of essential services and deregulation of the labour market. This should (in theory) be complemented by a lean, low-taxing, and low-spending government. What we see in the US is a government that privatises essential services, deregulates the labour market and then taxes its people highly (taxes are actually low, there are just a lot of different taxes to pay) while spending their pension funds on a war and a corporate bail-out.
With a minimum wage of $6/hr, meaning a 40 hour week draws $240 before, city tax, state tax, federal tax, social security tax, and health insurance (which many do without so they can pay rent and eat), the American people are being screwed over by their own government. They have led their people to believe that the are the world model for the free market, yet fail to embrace the whole model. There is no tax-free threshold in the USA….
On the other hand Barack sees the need to bring balance to their economic system. He sees the fact that the people of America are being screwed over by their own government, while those same people applaud their government’s economic achievements. Barack sees the working poor and seeks to do something about it. Maybe Barack is the person to fully implement the policies that make a free market work. Maybe he’ll bring tax relief to the low income earners. Maybe he’ll put a stop to the US government’s fiscal arterial bleeding. It appears that he will. Meanwhile, the rest of the world holds their collective breath, hoping America vote and allow Barack will bring these crucial changes.
October 16, 2008 at 10:53 am
petergraham
Everyone .. say hello to my mate Dave Lewis .. he’s as passionate about his political views as he is his coffee .. there are no two bigger issues in the world then who we trust to run the oval office and who we will trust to pour our morning cup of chino.
For Dave and I to even remotely agree on politics is an event in and of itself so its even more clear to me that world views have drastically changed in the past couple of years.
As an Australian citizen I know exactly what its like to be screwed over by your own government. We are no where near as bad as the United States but we watch as powerless puppet government agencies like the ACCC sit and do nothing while major corporations do just about whatever they see fit. I can see why more and more right wing Americans are now getting behind Barack Obama. They are tired of being taken for a ride by corporate greed .. and now its there tax dollars that are bailing out the very companies that have been screwing them over all along. Its a modern day political revolt on a scale that hasn’t been seen in quite some time.
For John McCain to resort to the extreme negative attack style in his campaign at this stage in the game will only serve to further drive down his chances to regain any kind of momentum. But lets face it .. even if he did start addressing the issues his ideas are simply carry over policies of the current administration and I don’t think anyone really wants to see those policies in action for another term. Interesting times of change are surely around the corner.