It just had to be him.
Most people acquainted with US politics would have been aware that the nominee had to be Barack Obama. It was a mathematical impossibility for Hillary to even come close to overtaking Barack in the pledged delegate count due to Baracks incredible grass root caucus oriented strategy. The Black man won and the white woman lost. Period.
This election is a once in a lifetime election that I will probably never witness again. Breaking racial and sexist stereotypes, this was the first relevant 51 state primary in decades.
At the start of the primary reason I vehemently opposed Hillary Clinton mainly because of her polarizing nature and the ‘bill factor’. The other guy was someone lovable, multiracial, Harvard educated , smooth talker , traces of JFK , all qualities of a true rock star. But as the primaries progressed and the barack crust passed, I have come to realize that she may not be that bad after all. She is a policy wonk, talk’s substance, strong on national security, worked with republicans in the senate, all qualities of a really good president. It all boils down to choosing a candidate who can inspire a nation with no fixed policy but just a general outline or a candidate who has everything worked out but will have constant republican attacks pointed towards her. In terms of electability Barack is high risk high uptick candidate and Hillary a low risk low uptick candidate.
The democrats now might be wary of electing a high risk candidate like obama in an election that all historical factors point to a dem win – unpopular president, low republican congressional and senatorial support, low republican party ID, a republican candidate who doesn’t excite the republican base. All swing state poll are very tight in an obama –McCain election while on the other hand Hillary thumps McCain in these same bellwether states.
Only time will tell if the democrats have made their right choice else a period of oblivion beckons for the dems.
For all those who think why I should be bothered about an election that will have no direct impact on me. My answer is simple, I can’t identify with the political parties of my country and I don’t see myself as a vote bank that will be pursued by any of the major political parties at least in the near foreseeable future.
22 comments:
Ponky I am one of those many,many people who think you are following an election that might not have much of a direct impact on us.
Following is a gross understatement.
maybe Shagging is right.
Dude you say you cant associate with vote-bank politics of the country.
Given,though shouldn't be.
Anyway,OK.
I still respect opinions of people who think politics is dirty and dont want to be associated with it(of course not till the disgusting idea that voting does not help).
But you seem to be into politics big time.
You seem to be following every fucking inch of the paper and second on the news, following the ugly republican and democratic races and build up to the election.
You think they play clean?
These are not purely my opinions.
politics is ugly,and some say it needs to be.Fine.Granted.Follow all of it.
But to talk about an election which decides on 'americas national security' or 'who smooth talks' and say u r unconcerned about an election which wholly decides and has been deciding and shaping our country's future, you have got some nerve!
And oh yes,I have got nothing against people following the US elections closely(although people will agree u have been literally shagging obama).
But to say u cant see urself connecting with parties in india and hence not giving a fuck in the near foreseeable future?!!
Dude ur 'foreseeable' future better be over n done right now or u can park ur wannabe ass in the US of A.
YUCK YUCK YUCK.
i appreciate your comments. I agree that politics is not clean , it was never meant to be and i agree that i have been 'shaggin' on the us election cycle.
It may sound ugly and elitist but the politicians in india have and will always pander to certain groups for the heck of winning elections. You have the media which spends most of its time sensationalizing trivial issues.
I am realistic in my assessment that politics in india isnt going to change for the forseeable future , but i do intend blogging for my cause. Critizing the political system is an integeral part of it.
We could probably learn a lot from the american political system, make ours personality centric , have ppl decide who the party nominates etc. The aint a superpower by fluke.
Maybe its time you reasses and not pass on some typical rang de basanti rhetoric.
They aint a superpower by fluke.
Thats exactly my point.
They have in them what is called patriotism.
To attempt to make India a superpower ,that is one of the most fundamental ingredient.
Politics is by-product.
U are contributing.
And if that requires a billion 'typical rang de basanti rhetorics' ,so be it!!!!
And ya hey glad u took things chill :)
A small, irrelevant detail: ONE solitary person DOES NOT constitute a vote bank. No politician's going to waste time, money and effort on people like you who don't vote. (I've reached this conclusion based on your attitude - correct me if I'm wrong)
Sadly, you're not alone. The cities are full of like-minded souls such as yourself. Just 44% of Bangalore voted in the recent elections. It's shameful!
you are wrong gulati, i fully intend in voting in upcoming elections. Will just have to vote for the lesser of the devils.
That's the spirit! Good to know :)
i don't give a rats ass about the presidential race in the u.s. but i certainly don't object to your interest in it.
what i damn well object to is the condescending tone you take in the end. politics everywhere is a dirty game.not all politicians in the u.s are angels. they may prance around in fancy suits with Harvard degree's but they are made of the same rotten stuff as their Indian counterparts.and don't for a moment delude yourself that who becomes president is going to affect India. these are the same bastards who imposed sanctions after pokhran,supply military equipment to pakistan, who still object to india's u.n. securiy council bid and blame us when they have food shortage. they only show interest in india,or any other country for that matter, only when they feel threatened or have something to gain from it themselves.so no matter who wins, the u.s. will still be the school yard bully it has been for in the past decades.
Exactly. Do you know what the concept of "Super-Delegates" are? (You'd better - for the amount of time you've spent) People who give you your vote in exchange for government posts.
Sounds like good old fashioned bribery to me. Or maybe you'd prefer to call it an "auction".
Oh, and let's not get into how campaign funds come about. Just where do those multi-millions come from?
And how can you leave out the various lobbies? The NRA's reputation's almost legendary in this regard. 85% of the U.S. population oppose the free sale of guns. Yet the U.S. (barring Afganistan and other war-torn countries) is probably the easiest place to buy guns.
Oh, and Mr. Bush's remarks that Indians eat too much take the cake.
The cherry on top goes to Mr. Mc Cain - He blamed India for global warming. This when an average U.S. citizen consumes 6 times more energy than the world average. And Indians consume well below that average.
@ gulati and bala, your typical liberal bull crap amazes me.
Firstly, super delegates are grassroot, state and national leaders who will cast their ballot in the convention to decide the nominee. There might be some back room deals, this is politics dude, people offer help for something in return. Thats the way it works in every sphere of life.
Secondly, about the nra thing, get your facts checked http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/16/guns.poll/index.html
their gun culture is quite different from the rest of the world. Banning guns may not solve their problems, it will just encourage smuggling.
Thirdly, about the bush food comment, I agree US wastes a hell lot of food and they have no right to comment on others, but India is gradually getting there. You have a small minority that eats too much and a huge majority that struggles to eat a basic diet. Just because the US wastes food dosent mean we should too. Let us form our own path to achieve balanced nutrition.
Lastly, About the lobbyists in the US , its a more organized way of getting policy through, the Indian system aint any better, we follow the old fashioned bribe all the way policy.Check out our telecom policy.
Not blaming you in particular but a lot of educated people in our country have a neo liberal view of the world. It’s a typical attitude that a hardworking poor kid harbors towards the rich spoilt kid. Resentment towards the US stems from the fact that our system is broken and most feel we have no chance of repairing it , so just blame the rich spoilt US. Such sort of resentment isn’t going to help us get anywhere. We do not live in a utopian world , There are flaws and we need to recongnize that.
I am not saying we should lick the ass of the US. Let look at our system and try to fix ours in our own way trying to learn from more successful systems.
Dont get upset by reading this comment, introspect and think about it.
Hmmm.. Food for thought? Maybe. But I don't agree with you in the fact that Indian citizens (people like bala, me) view the US with jealousy. A LOT of people are coming BACK to India to make serious money. The pay-scales here are increasing at an astonishing rate. MNCs now know who actually makes their money for them. It's no longer worth it to be a US NRI. You'd rather make better money at home.
Just look at how much we've progressed in the past few years. And if you compare India @ 60 yrs with the U.S. @ 60, you'll realise one thing. We're way ahead. The economists the world over have predicted that by 2050, China, India, Brazil and Russia are going to be calling the shots. So, jealousy? More like pity.
You are missing the point .
I am not saying we are struggling, we are developing at rapid pace, but most of the development is superficial. It is not all round development, The rural sector is struggling with no new policy initiatives other than the employment guarantee scheme.
Inflation is increasing everyday. If you really want to compare our system with any other , the ideal case is China. We were more advanced than the Chinese in the early 80's but now look where they are.
You say a lot of people are coming back i agree, still most people go abroad (u will proabably too).
Wait for my next post i intend writing on the indian economy
First of all, if all of you guys (gulati, srinivas) have been commenting only for the sake of ponky bashing, I can very well sympathize with you :P
But if you actually thought that you were doing rational criticism, please stop kidding yourselves.
In the first place, I cant see what crime there is in following the US elections (even shagging it). It is one of the most interesting international events this year and promises to be very dramatic and entertaiting. Moreover, I have observed that the campaigns and the debates have been very engaging and full of substance. The second thing that I want to mention is that ponky never actually said US politics is clean and transparent while indian politics is as dirty as gulati's laundry (which is typically several weeks old before it goes to the washers..or so I have heard :P ). Next there is the issue of the-next-president-has-nothing-to-do-with-india. Well I am sure that the outcome of the Euro cup has nothing todo with india. But that doesnt stop some of you from following it like crazy (or shagging it). So wake up to the fact that some ppl might be interested in things that you dont give a rats ass for but that doesnt make them insane :P We might not be the target audience of a more perfect union speech from obama; nevertheless we cant help admiring his charisma and drawing inspiration from it. There are very few indian leaders who have a complete understanding of governance and their policies and most of the elctions here are not fought on many policy issues. But I am sure there have been incidents in the us campaigns as well that have been irrelevent or trivial. Well condemn them individually but not the entire system. I am also sure that inspite of his alleged disdain for it, ponky will be shagging indian politics during the elections next year (though a trifle incoherently :P).
Btw, please refrain from pointless us bashing. I am not saying it isn't right ;) its merely irrelevent to the issue being discussed here.
how is not relevent here(u.s. bashing)?
as u said,i have no objection to ponky taking such a keen interest the u.s. elections.but i think he's giving them undue credit.
i wanted to point out to him that the politicians in the us aren't as
he pictures them.reading the blog and the comments(rich kid poor kid) its clear that he's disillusioned.in saying the the us does not give a damn about anyone but a few cronies like the u.k,aus etc I'm just stating the obvious.
That is a whole new discussion. All he mentioned were obama's campaign promises. You speak of current US foreign policies (that too, your interpretation of them) and seem to accuse him of supporting them. And if you think you have a clearer idea of us politicians than him, you're welcome to your opinion :P And when you say undue credit, what do you precisely mean?
God, I dont know why I am defending ponky so much here ;)
@bala A countrys foreign policy is meant to help the country. Why would a country adopt a position that hurts its own position.
The US foreign policy is skewed to help its interests. its meant to be.
Are you saying Indias foreign policy is fair? Check out our foreign policy towards China and Burma. Do we really care? What about the Iran oil pipeline. We know Iran is going to use the money for terrorism purposes but we wanted the oil so we were keen on the deal.
What i am trying to say is all countries have their own vested interests. We have ours so let US have theirs. If we can play the game well then good else we will get screwed. Its as simple as that
Okay,firstly,Yes.The comment was mostly for ponky bashing.
Secondly,I agree the US election is an extremely interesting event.No denying that.You are going to see a man who could well change the course of mankind.For those of you who dont think its true,well the geopolitical scenario after WW2 should tell you the story.
What I was only pissed off though was at the last para.It screams "I dont give a fuck about Indian Politics".
So all I was saying is if you have got your hands dirty knowing politics anyway,how bout giving a damn bout whats happening here?!
Of course the Obama-shagging is a lighter allegation ;)
And also, Raghavan we did have this discussion on US sometime back? Still sticking to your guns that India is a worthless place to stay in your view and you would catch the first flight out at a given opportunity?!
And oh yes Ponky about your last post.
Point well made about India's policy.Any country's foreign obviously should be for their own interests and it will be.
India doesnt give damn if Iran has a problem with us carrying Israeli payloads.
@srinivas
Stop misquoting me..I could have you sued for libel :P The words I said weren't even close to what you have mentioned either actually or in spirit. And I dont see why you are bringing that up now...unless you want to indulge in some raghavan bashing ;) Anyway that was a very immature stand that I took that day and my present opinion is quite different. But yes I still would catch the first flight out but for different reasons :P
hehe ok
Btw Ponky,if you observe L K Advani's strategy for the coming elections, it does seem that he is trying to ape the US based personality building exercise- he has published an autobiography-a la Obama....and the NDA is presenting Advani as a knight in shining armor with the entire NDA alliance behind him. On the other hand, the Congress/UPA alliance seems to be lacking that defining personality. Manmohan Singh will never appeal to the masses if he is propped up for the next elections and Sonia Gandhi ,with all the history of turning down the PM post, has done little over the last few years to strengthen her position. Also, the BJP strategy of having one national political team headed by Arun Jaitley following each state election for the last 4 yrs has now become the basis for Advani's political team (Similar to Obama's grass root caucus oriented strategy).
Coming to the US elections, Obama is my fav too, but if u can forget all his charisma, u cant help but notice that he seriously lacks anything substantial to back his presidential claim. I cant help but relate to what Bono said while speaking on the need to help African nations,"Idealism detached from action is just a dream, but Idealism allied with pragmatism with rolling up the sleeves and making the world bend a bit is very exciting, is very real, is very strong and is very present." And I do think that the middle class, middle & senior aged americans view Obama's idealism as a dream-this can be seen from the fact that Obama holds a wafer thin popularity ratings lead over McCain that too after all the mess that has been left behind by a republican govt.
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