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The very keenly
contested election to become the next President of US and
the next occupant of White House, Washington DC, the seat of power
of the
world's only superpower, and considering the divisions in the
world at
large, the office that carries most power in the affairs of the
world at
large, is less than two days away. Even people who live very far
from
America have heard of this hotly contested election between
incumbent US
President, Barrack Obama of the Democratic party, and the
challenger, Mitt
Romney of the Republican party.
The American nation of 300 million population, 50 states, and the
huge
size of a
subcontinent that spreads 3000 miles from the Atlantic ocean coast
on the
east to the Pacific ocean coast on the west, and 2000 miles from
the Canadian border on the north to the Mexican border on the south,
has
become increasingly diverse, complex and full of internal &
external
conflicts and contradictions in the last few decades. Even though
the office of the US President is most powerful, the ability to
get things
done is keenly divided between the Office of the President and the
US
Congress (Senate, House of Representatives) and also the governors
of the
fifty states.
Today with continuous immigration over the last two hundred years,
first
Whites from Europe, then Blacks from Africa as slaves, then
colored
people from South America and from Asia, America has become a real
mixture of people of all
races, ethnicities, religions and cultures. Thus the American nation that
was dominated fifty years ago by the White people who held all power
in all walks of life, and still dominate all aspects of the
American
nation, has to pay attention to
the vote power of the substantial non White electorate.
Partly in response to the upsurge of the colored Americans
increasingly
asserting their electoral power, a sizeable segment of the White
American
population has turned to the right wing and conservative policies
of the
Republican party in the last decade. In fact the Tea Party an
internal faction of the Republican party has put tremendous
pressure
on the nation's policies, and
on the policies of the Republican party by swaying voters to right
wing views. Thus of compulsion, the candidates of the Republican
party, that used to be somewhat moderate even though they were
right
of center, have turned to mouthing conservative & right wing policies.
The Democratic party that used to be left of center has gone more
to
the left on some social issues. Increasingly irreligiosity has
become
a feature of the Democratic party. Thus they find nothing wrong
with
giving constitutional recognition to same sex marriage or
legalizing
the proliferation of gambling casinos across US. At the same time
the
Democratic party appears to pay some attention to the havenots in
US
and in the world at large. Republicans on the other hand emphasize
a
return to the days when White people held all power and in
international affairs they believe in utilizing the mighty US
military
to make the third world do what they think is right. Yet,
Republicans
in general believe more in religious and family values.
Thus there is no clear choice between the candidates of the two
parties in either domestic US policies or international policies.
The clearest indication of this sharp division among the
politicians
shows up all the time as the two sides stonewall each other in the
US
Senate and House of Representatives, and as they confront the
President in the White House. It was the same situation in the 8
year
era of President George W Bush. Thus political gridlock is the
order
of the day in Washington and US government today.
Thus it is no surprise that the 2012 US Presidential election has
cost a total of $6 billion! Imagine how much this big money could
have
helped improve the currently depressed Us economy. President Obama
who came to the White House in 2008 on the strength of many
egalitarian promises of making positive changes in the country,
including the nation's depressed economy, failed to implement most
of
his promises.
The war in the middle east is continuing as the war in Iraq ended
but
the war in Afghanistan mushroomed, and the sirens of another war
in
Iran are being heard. US policies in the third world continue to
be a
militaristic display of raw power as the US international image of
a
champion of democracy and fairness continues to be sullied. The US
economy continues to be very depressed as unemployment continues
to be
near 8%, four years after President Obama took office. The
Guantanamo
Bay prison continues to remain open. The lives of middleclass and
poor class people in US continues to be less cheerful than what it
was
four years ago. Low taxes of the super wealthy Americans that
President Bush inaugurated continue unchanged under President Obama.
Thus a non-aligned observer does not find much cheer in President
Obama's record. One may thus imagine that it is time to have
another
President in US. Yet the same observer fears that under a
President
Romney the neocons of the Bush era and the right wingers of the
Tea
Party will crowd White House policies, and the havenots, the
colored
people, the immigrants will be crowded out of consideration and
relegated to the margins.
Today, two days before the election on November 6, 2012 most
polling
outlets and media outlets are calling the Presidential race
between
Obama and Romnet a dead heat. Yet Obama is being shown as 1
percent
ahead of Romney. The curious US system of electing the President
through the electoral college may skew the result by giving more
importance to half a dozen of the fifty states, namely, Florida,
Ohio,
Wisconcin, Iowa, Colorado, New Hampshire.
It is extremely difficult to predict with confidence as to who will
win
the Presidential race. Yet it appears that Obama has a slight edge
that may help him return to the White House for another four
years.
The writer is based in
Washington and can be reached on: kaleemkawaja@gmail.com
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