President Obama

Well, where do I start? I've spent the entire day today listening to BBC radio, scanning through the BBC website's live coverage of the election results, reading the CNN website and following the Obama Blog with live results as well! I think I did look up some work related stuff here and there in between. ;) Hah.. how I wish no one from office would ever read this!

I've been trying very hard in the last week to understand why I'm so concerned that Obama should not lose! I still cannot answer that question. I've tried to reason with myself. It does not affect me at all. US policies towards India are hardly gonna change. Their relations with Singapore are quite good, so I don't see what else they can do to improve those. So directly or indirectly I doubt I will be affected. I've come to a conclusion that it might be due to Obama's charisma as a leader. Maybe, I have a sub-concious feeling that if he wins he will improve things for USA, which hopefully will translate into better things for the world. I mean, we really can't deny (even if we want to) how big an impact US has on the rest of the world. 

Considering I've always abhorred politics, never followed a single election in the biggest democracy on the planet- my own India and never bothered much about politics as a whole, it is a great personal achievement to have followed these US elections with such involvement. I've spent a great deal of time over the past few months reading up on small details of the election campaign. I therefore know all about the Paris Hilton bid for the White House, Joe six pack, Joe the plumber, the pig that wears lipstick (they thought he was talking about Palin) and the list continues..! 

I personally thought Obama's campaign was a lot cleaner as compared to Mc Cain's. It might be because Mc Cain's camp did a lot of mud-slinging at Obama. Ranging from calling him a Muslim (which is not a bad thing, but after 9/11 it is often perceived that way in USA), saying he has close ties with an "ex-terrorist" Bill Ayers, down-playing his oratorial skills as if that is a vice (!), calling him a hollywood kind of celebrity compared to Paris Hilton, to calling him way too risky for America. Things against Mc Cain camp that got most press were mostly against Sarah Palin and I think it was usually not pitted by the Obama camp. It was more the press doing it all on their own. 

I think my views sound very Democratic since I was totally for the Obama campaign. It is the charisma of this leader. He so totally fits the bill of a President. He talks, walks and looks like a highly responsible guy and I think that is the reason why SO many young people supported him in this election. They want someone who has modern thinking, understands their point of view, has lived the life that a lot of middle class people are now living and of course someone who can bring change. I don't deny that circumstances helped him a lot. Eight years of the Bush administration, situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and most specially the financial crisis. Even so, the financial crisis will probably be one of the biggest problems he has to deal with when he takes oath in January.

I was following the latest election projections today (morning, in Singapore), and when it was announced that Obama had won Ohio, Iowa and Pennsylvania, I was quite excited already. Once they officially announced the projections from California I was almost ready to start jumping up and down. Although I didn't do so, considering I was in office and stuff! :P I've been listening to how people are celebrating on the streets of USA and I've been wishing that I was there to celebrate too! 

These are the times when I wish to my heart's content that India did not have as many political parties as it does. They totally screw up the entire political dynamics. And that is part of the reason why I do not follow Indian politics. Of course, corruption is a bigger reason but if they had just two parties, it would probably make more sense to have democracy. There wouldn't be buying of independant MPs/MLAs and small parties with 8-9 seats when coalitions are formed. Formed, to be broken again and again! It's a cycle. Elections-> coalitions-> break coalition-> make new coalition-> break coalition-> elections. Sigh!

Well, going back to the US elections, I guess the pundits are right about how Obama's victory will project America in a better light before the rest of the world. It will now be viewed as a country that gives equal opportunity to someone who has the capability to take it, as John Mc Cain pointed out in his conceding speech. 

I wish we have an Obama in India who can unite the small, minute political parties into one and not for just one term of five years. Until that happens, I can only hope that US is on a better track than it has been in the past few years. May Barack Obama be able to deliver on the change he has promised. And may global confidence stay with him. Afterall he is the guy who made Americans believe in Change and say in one voice .... Yes we can!