Europeans watch Democratic primaries with trepidation

Europeans watch Democratic primaries with trepidation
January 27th, 2008 by Brij Khindaria
Europeans are watching the run up to Super Tuesday with a mixture of trepidation and bemusement after Barack Obama’s overwhelming win in South Carolina, where he captured 80% of the black vote.
There is trepidation because the person and party that rule America have an extraordinary influence on the fate of Europeans, who are close military and economic allies of the US. Bemusement because the primaries are turning into a circus at which the audience sits in nail-biting tension waiting to see who falls to the ground from the trapeze.
The Democratic primaries are perplexing in light of how non-Americans have traditionally perceived the Democrats. Suddenly, a white woman and a black man are sniping lethally at each other over race and religion. For most Europeans, it is scary that Obama is being called a Muslim simply to use the fear factor against him and must repeatedly prove his Christian faith to avoid losing votes. A black Christian who is forced to use the name of Martin Luther King to bolster his credentials both as an African American and the right kind of Christian is a sight Europeans would prefer not to have to see in a democratic process.
It is even scarier that American voters are being forced to divide on racial lines because of the Clinton-Obama chasm. Obama says race does not matter but it does because he won South Carolina because of it. Clinton claims she is race neutral but she is corralling Obama in the black corner to turn white voters away from him.
Many Europeans saw the rise of Hillary Clinton as a beacon of decency in US politics and a sign that Americans are finally catching up with Sri Lanka, India, Ukraine, Israel, Argentina, Britain, Germany and Pakistan. But the sleaze and racial and religious undertones of how she hits at Obama is souring European perceptions.
Her campaign managers probably think they are creating a perception of her as a bold, decisive and humane woman with the extraordinary intelligence required to cope with America’s and the world’s problems. To non-Americans she appears to be a mean street fighter who might be a vindictive and war-mongering President if her pride is crossed. She looks like the caricature ugly American who will stoop to anything to win. If she does this now, she might do so in foreign policy as well.
Worse, it is still unclear whether she has legs of her own. Bill Clinton is well-liked around the world, but the sight is not edifying of him dominating the campaign of a woman on whom he cheated and a potential President with whom he has an unclear relationship about who wears the pants.
It is hard to find a European observer who knows what Hilary stands for. Is she for the Iraq war or against it? Would she bomb Iran or talk even if it takes a long time? Is she for tax and interest rate cuts, or other inflationary measures, to save the US from recession? What will she do if foreign sovereign funds continue to buy into major US icons because American money cannot be found to save those companies?
Mostly important, is she capable of standing on her own feet in times of crisis or must she sit on Bill’s shoulders to make a difference to America and the world?
John Edwards has mostly been written off already. He is perceived as a Southern populist whose populism is irrelevant to modern America and the modern world. For most Europeans, like it or not, the US is currently the sole credible world leader. The problems its President must solve for America and the world are far too complex for populism and rhetoric.
Let us hope, things look a little better morally and ethically by Super Tuesday.

yah, yeah, yea, ya.

My good day turned into a bad next.

there's not a lot that i can do to make things right around me. there are all sorts of troubles that i can get into great detail with but will choose not to at this moment.

but yesterday i won some money in the lottery, no kidding. i was happy. kind of. of course also yesterday, bob, the evil lottery man, begged me to do his tickets even after i said i couldn't. that's strike one. also yesterday, a lady that i do see quite often in the store was wanting to buy milk and she had forgot her card. i allowed her to write a check because, well....it's not a habit and she doesn't exactly seem like someone without money in her account, especially four dollars. striek two. there should not be a problem there. and i'm not supposed to play lottery again. okay. kind of a strike three...but not quite. i'm not out yet.

oh well. i will have to sit back, do my work and look good again. perhaps it's another turning point day. everything will be okay...

right?

t

did i travel safe, like a goose?

12.1.08

i don't know what happened exactly...
10.1.08


So I know that I was at that house. i had just come back from taking a friend home. i brought goodies. camel menthol, not wides, but close enough, bugler, and some kind of potato chip. i remember playing cards. poker, right? and i wanted to play rummy. i love rummy. an acquaintance left after awhile. more cards. blackjack; (before the man left) and after. we played for chips. then i start to get foggy. what happened? damn cobwebs in my head. i think that i remember being in the front seat of my car fidgeting with music...or attempting to. i cannot be sure of who was driving at that moment in time but i know someone was. Then I'm not sure of what comes next. i remember fucking someone. my foot, my leg were in the air, i was interested in the dome light. it was good. i remember that... but i cannot see your face. i see a face of guilt and am i replacing one face with another? i lost my glasses. i lost my shirt. my brand new sweater. i need another one. but it's no longer available. who? oh my god. this is bad. ... here, take another drink, chase it with pbr. 'can i have more' ? sure. ... and i ended up in the backyard of someone's family. daylight shone through. i stayed up all night yet again. but i don't know what happened exactly. we hurried out from where we were. he drove my car to his house. he went home. i went home. i am still sore. i liked whatever it was i did that morning. almost kind of a whole lot. that makes me bad. at the boy who took my car, his house, i remember telling him, i think...?...that he was a good person.

fill in the blanks.