Sunday, 18 February 2007

Hillary or Hussein?

From the time I first heard of her, I’ve been an admirer of Hillary Clinton. My earliest curiosity about her personality stemming from the headlines such as ‘Hillary’s Husband Elected’ ran by the East German news papers when Bill Clinton was elected President for the first time. My admiration grew as I read more about her views on social issues and it peaked after noticing the remarkable dignity with which she handled each crisis in her life brought about by the irresponsible ways of her husband. I often thought of her as the best bet to be America’s first woman President.

But the sudden appearance of a fresh face, that of Senator Barack Hussein Obama from Illinois, on the scene of the Presidential race leaves me a bit confused. Sen. Obama already had to answer questions on his early schooling in some Islamic Madrassa in Indonesia; and he’s on the back foot, pleading for his ‘devout Christian’ status! How annoying is it to see persons of integrity and values forced to fall over backwards and eat their words by the fools and fanatics who control the 'religious under world', once they bid for an elected office.
Whenever the Americans chose to ignore the conservatives, they had brought in a refreshing change on the way their country was governed. They had elected the
‘Compassionate’, the ‘Crippled’ and the ‘Catholic’ in spite of the heavy odds staked against them and history changed course each time. And it's badly in need of another course correction now.

Years ago when a highly decorated general, a hero of the American state, announced his intention to run, the campaign managers of the then President ran a vitriolic attack on him, digging up information on his past. The pro-President news papers derided him as the “son of a common prostitute” and the “paramour husband of a convicted adulteress” and asked the voters whether such a person could be elected as the President of that devoutly Christian land! And when his supporters decided to pay back with the same coin, he had heroically restrained them stating “I never war on the females, it’s only the mean and cowardly that do”. The Americans then responded by electing him for two consecutive terms, perhaps the first orphan to be democratically elected as the President of any nation, and also made sure that those behind the campaign never made it to the White House. Any doubt on why the Americans continue to command respect in spite of their recent record?

Is there a way out of my present dilemma? With all due respect to the hopes & aspirations of the African Americans, I wish Hillary to run for President & Obama for the veep.

2 comments:

Abhi said...

I would say this is a very good account or rather a "Behind the scenes" story of the Presidential elections in the US. Once again enriching the knowledge of the reader!

But don't you think Hillary's present change in her stand on the govt's policies adopted in Iraq go against her. I had great respect for her when she expressed her displeasure at the Bush administration's attack on Iraq. But now she's flipped and gone in favour of the attack. That makes one weak decision maker for the chair of USA. Now one may ask " But then who's been so good in that place since Kennedy? ". Now that's something that remains to be seen!

aravind said...

I have the same view on Hillary.She had a great vision on women empowerment and education of children.And she has a satisfactory political and social career also.But..
I think the problem is not with the presidents , it is the American policies(or the policy makers).We had seen this in Cuba,Vietnam,Brazil,Korea,Middle East...Now in Iraq,Afghanistan ...We all know US is behind all the unrest around the globe.Can this woman give US policies a new direction?We have to wait and see ..