2 posts tagged “election 2008”
Time for my American friends to enlighten me. I can understand the attraction of being in the top job in the US but is there any benefit in being the US Vice President?
It’s not just a money thing is it? And does it operate like the British system where you get to live in the house next door? (That has always tickled my fancy by the way. Does the British Deputy PM sit in his lounge room hoping to see an ambulance turn up at the neighbours?)
In Oz the deputy’s position is regarded as PM-in-waiting unless your Boss is John Howard and forgets to go home. The intention is to get a chance to build a profile so folk know who you are when voting time comes around.
Maybe this is the case in the States but I wouldn’t have thought that is an option for Hilary. Assuming she wouldn’t go up against Obama again in 5 years time, she will be 10 years older when her next chance comes around and I don’t think she needs to be the deputy to have a public profile.
Surely it’s not on the off chance that some nutter takes out the President? Is it perhaps a status thing or does the Vice President gain some protection from pending court action?
Anyone got a theory or some background?
5 years after “Mission Accomplished” I still marvel at how Americans feel it is their “Right” to interfere in the politics of other countries. And not just Iraq. A number of smaller countries have been subjected to their interference. It seems that if a politician can drum up a case of National Security, they automatically get the majority of their citizens on side.
How is this possible?
I can’t tell if they think it’s un-American to challenge their leaders or if they are simply too lazy to think through the logic. In Australia’s case it’s an easy call. We’re lazy. Generally folk can’t be bothered to think about the problem unless something like the Haneef case comes up where lawyers stir up the collective consciousness. Once we feel a politician has stepped over the line it’s very easy to get folk fired up but you need someone to capture the imagination of the Public to get the ball rolling. If it presents as bully boy tactics then you are home and hosed.
That doesn’t seem to be a selling point in the States. It seems the main objection of US folk to Bush’s War is the death toll of their own kids rather than any ethical view or sense of fair play. Fair enough that they are getting annoyed about the waste of their kids lives but I would like to see them question why they get involved in other countries affairs in the first place. Otherwise we will be going through all this devastation again in another country for another special interest group under a different President.
Once upon a time we could expect the US Media to do the thinking for their citizens but I don’t think they are filling that role any more, or at least they have been very slow to challenge the thinking in the Administration. It reminds me of the disgusting enthusiasm we saw when Maggie Thatcher decided to improve her poll standings by attacking the Argentineans in the Falklands. Some of the old blokes with the comment of “Give em a taste of the bayonet” were quite disgraceful.
The shallow British Press were just as bad. Some of their headlines were shockers. They even went as far as to give highly racist coverage of tennis matches played by Guillermo Vilas. I couldn’t believe such a thing from the allegedly sophisticated English commentators. The only saving grace here was this was an unusual event for the Brits. Although they are not without their sins in interfering in other peoples politics, they don’t seem to get involved quite so often these days.
But the US is a different ball game all together. It seems like they go out of their way to find a country they feel they can rearrange. Regardless of the fact they don’t seem to be able to get it all their own way or even close to what they want. US fuel prices would seem to indicate that going to Iraq to keep fuel affordable has been a total disaster.
I think that highlights a problem with the fuel theory. It looks more plausible that this is a little earner for Brown and Root. Despite his claims of concern for US troops, I think Dick Cheney is more than happy with the whole shooting match. Somehow I don’t see Tricky Dicky crying himself to sleep as he counts his ill gotten gains.
The coming election should be an indicator of how American thinking is going. If they sign up for more of the same with McCain then we have a long way to go before US Voters decide to demand more of their politicians. If they vote Democrat you won’t be able to tell if they demand more or have just got sick of Republicans killing their kids.
What the world really needs is for US Voters to simply ask WHY and demand a sensible answer. Counterproductive missions like The War on Terror don’t pass the sensible test.
