"To find a successor to the most unpopular president
since polling began, Americans are mobilizing more than since after the
election of John Kennedy in 1960 … But beware! Don't tell the Americans that
Europe's voting for Obama - it could cost him his victory."
Out of the interminable campaign of
primaries has emerged an undeniable surge of American democracy. To find a
successor to the most unpopular president since polling began, Americans are
mobilizing more than since after the election of John Kennedy in 1960.
It is especially true of young people and
ethnic minorities, particularly Blacks, who traditionally have very high rates
of abstention. This year they have registered to vote en mass. In the
primaries they have often made the difference in favor of Barack Obama, but
they have also made a difference in actual elections. In mid-May in Missouri,
in a constituency that had been firmly-held by Republicans, the mobilization of
Blacks led to the victory of a Democrat.
They [Republicans] won't be reluctant to
use the race factor - with various degrees of discretion - to block the path of
the first African American with a serious claim on the White House. Without
many scruples, the Clinton camp has done so as well. It's difficult to
determine the impact of the maneuver. In the opinion polls, it's not
“politically correct” to declare that one would never vote for a Black. The
component of “racism” is doubtless under-estimated, as was previously true in
France with voters of the National Front [France's extreme right-wing party ].
However, Barack Obama won his first battle
in the Iowa Caucus, a state with a 95 percent White population. Among Whites,
voting for Obama's was greatly facilitated by a lack of Blacks in the region;
the issue only became a problem when the population was of mixed race.
There is little doubt that the Illinois
Senator will find it hard to attract voters in the White middle-class - those
who voted massively for Hillary Clinton in recent primaries. Obama's supporters
recall the presidential election of 1972 with concern. The Democratic candidate,
Senator George McGovern, was dependent on the elites, minorities and young
people. He was swept aside by Richard Nixon. The most fervent supports of
Barack Obama belong to the same categories. But not only.
2008 ELECTION
FUN: OBAMA THE MUSICAL
Additional evidence of the vitality of
American democracy is the funds collected by the candidate. It seems a paradox,
because the huge amount of funds spent during campaigns are often attributed to
the American political system. But if Barack Obama has raised $240 million in
the primaries ($30 million or €19 million just in the month of April), he owes
it first and foremost to people of modest means: over a million have donated an
average of $200 - often $10 or $20 - many of who will continue to finance the
actual presidential campaign.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Of course there are dirty tricks, negative
ads on television, catch-phrases distilled by the candidates' entourages and
the massive machinery of the parties, all of which sheds a less-than-idyllic
light on the election. But the fact remains that this year, three atypical and
in many ways unexpected candidates have emerged: on the Republican side, a
veteran of the Vietnam War who already tried his luck in 2000 and was not the
choice of the establishment; on the Democratic side, a woman who certainly
considered herself the “inevitable” candidate but who herself sliced into the
ambient machismo; and an African American whose chances are not negligible.
But beware! Don't tell the Americans that
Europe's voting for Obama - it could cost him his victory.
Help Support WORLDMEETS.US
WorldMeets.US is a non-partisan, volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization that operates solely in the public interest. The opinions expressed in articles posted by WorldMeets.US are not necessarily those of WorldMeets.US, its sponsors or its volunteers.
