[Het Parool, The Netherlands]

O Globo, Brazil

The Choice of Sarah Palin: A 'Brilliant' Political Play

"If there were a typical, middle-class American face and way of speaking as well, it would be of Sarah Palin … Even McCain had a half-smile when he announced Sarah Palin - the smile of an old man when he receives praise from a much younger woman."

By William Waack

Translated By Brandi Miller

August 29, 2008

Brazil - O Globo - Original Article (Portuguese)

John McCain’s choice for a young (by political standards) female governor as his running mate was an extraordinary political occurrence for Republicans. It genuinely relegated to the history books the speech given the night before by Barack Obama - of which much of the press instantly stopped talking about just twelve hours after it had been called "historic."

At 72 years of age, John McCain isn't exactly a triathlete. To answer this, the Republican candidate himself has always said that it's just as important to know the Republican Vice Presidential candidate as it was to know him. And what a Vice! A "hockey mom," as Governor Sarah Palin describes herself: one of those suburban mothers (there, the word suburban has a different connotation), who takes her children to hockey practice in the afternoon. And she goes and cheers for them on Sundays - after church, of course. 

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[The Australian, Australia]

If there were a typical, middle-class American face and way of speaking as well, it would be of Sarah Palin. It's obvious that this is an electoral appeal to female Democrats who are still unhappy about the fact that Hillary Clinton wasn't even chosen to be Obama’s vice. Palin is an arch-conservative on moral and social issues, which also speaks to a large number of American voters.

And if Obama is the "message candidate," Palin gives the Republican campaign an unexpected air of joviality. It was a brilliant political play. The name that most people had been talking about for the vice presidential slot was entrepreneur-governor Mitt Romney - competent, successful, monotonous. Even McCain had a half-smile when he announced Sarah Palin - the smile of an old man when he receives praise from a much younger woman.

[The Times, U.K.]

Obama’s acceptance speech was the most important of his career so far, but it was missing the charisma that has often enchanted people during the primaries. Obama had to show his teeth - and this time it was not to smile. He was tough and convincing in his attacks on Bush and McCain - something Democrats had been imploring him to be. And he made at least two resounding promises which will be difficult to carry out, but which he will be expected to keep.

First promise: End U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil within ten years. This may perhaps be the most important strategic goal formulated by an American head of state since the U.S. policy of containment of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Cold War some 60 years ago (The "Star Wars" project of Reagan was a continuation of this policy). And this comes with an interesting byproduct: the recognition that it's better to withdraw from a place where conflicts seem insurmountable.

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[The Times, U.K.]

Second promise: to cut taxes for 95 percent of middle class families. The main difficulty in cutting taxes is the fact, recognized by Obama during his speech on Thursday evening, is that he needs to finance social, infrastructure and investment programs and he has also promised to maintain a fiscal balance. Reconciling all of this requires an extraordinary sense of balance, a long-term vision and political articulation.

There are 67 days before the U.S. elections and they seem wide open. They are the most fascinating for at least three generations. The American electorate - and the world, we could say, given the consequences of the decisions that are taken by the United States, like them or not - is confronted with a real choice. And it's not easy to decide between one and the other.

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US September 2, 5:50pm]