Damn, I love Americans. Just when you’ve written them off as hopeless, as a nation in decline, they turn around and do something extraordinary, which tells you why the United States of America is still the greatest nation on earth. But too, what is happening in America and Kenya holds lessons for politicians everywhere, and South Africa would do well to take heed.
Barack Obama’s strong lead in Iowa, nine points ahead of his closest Democratic rival, John Edwards, 10 points ahead of Hillary Clinton, shows we are entering a new world, one where the internet exposes every lie, where chat rooms allow unprecedented discussion, where blogs see commentary untrammelled by the dictates of powerful news corporations. In this world the electorate are no longer stupid, no longer cowed; we may be entering the era of the world’s most savvy voters yet.
In this new world where expression is truly free, where ideas will be the most important currency of the next decade and many of the greatest advances in any field will come from those under the age of 30, politics are undergoing a revolution.
Voters are demanding substance over style. They are showing that it’s not money or how smart a leader appears that counts, they want substance, they want heart, they want leaders who give a damn. After Barrack Obama delivered perhaps the most inspirational speech the US has heard since Martin Luther King or Robert Kennedy — four decades of empty rhetoric was broken by a man who talked of the power of “hope” — he stepped off the stage and the loudspeakers blared out the Motown hit, Here I am baby, signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours!
And that’s what voters want — politicians that belong to them, not big business. They don’t want politicians who speak down to them like Thabo Mbeki or Hillary Clinton, they want people who speak with them, who understand the nuanced complexities of 21st century day-to-day life.
The angriest voters in the US, South Africa, Kenya, Pakistan — globally — are those battling economically while the rich flaunt their wealth. The wealth gap in the US is now at its widest since 1929: in 2005, 21,2% of US national income accrued to just 1% of earners. In 1968, the CEO of General Motors took home in pay and benefits about 66 times the amount paid to a typical GM worker. In 2005, the CEO of Wal-Mart earned 900 times the pay of his average employee. In that year the wealth of the Wal-Mart founding family was estimated at about the same ($90-billion) as that of the bottom 40% of the US population, 120-million people, according to Tony Judi in the New York Review of Books reviewing Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life by Robert B Reich (Knopf).
It was impossible not to feel stirred when Obama said, in reference to the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, “Hope is what led people to Selma … Hope is what led me today, with a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, a story that could only happen in the US. Hope is the bedrock of our nation; our destiny will not be written for us, it will be written by us.”
And hopefully if Obama becomes president he will remember that with regard to other nations and change six generations of disastrous interfering US foreign policy. Nearly every truly dangerous person or organisation in the world today was backed or funded by the US or their supporters received military and other training from the US — they include or included Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf, the Taliban, the Contras in Nicaragua, Renamo in Mozambique, Unita in Angola…
It was the Central Intelligence Agency that gave the information that saw Nelson Mandela arrested in 1961. In terms of US anti-terror legislation, key ANC leaders who have stood trial on sabotage or communism charges even today have to have special measures taken each time they want to visit that country — in terms of US law they are classified as terrorists and include Nelson Mandela, Tokyo Sexwale and Sydney Mufamadi.
Obama gave hope when he said: “Together we will change this country brick by brick, block by block … ordinary people can do extraordinary things … we are not red states [Republican] or blue states [Democrat], we are ready to believe again.”
In that message he showed what makes the great beloved through centuries: they preach a message that unifies, that sees neither class nor race, they inspire, they give people reason to believe not just in their leader, but in themselves and their nation.
It was Martin Luther King who said: “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”
It was Nelson Mandela’s lesson for South Africans, and led to a miracle of reconciliation, which in turn galvanised the world and this nation to create the unprecedented prosperity of recent years — without a return to that sense of infinite hope South Africa will continue to cleave and ultimately to falter.
The two men who won at Iowa are not the men with the biggest war chests — Mick Huckabee, who won the Republican ticket, has puny resources compared with his party rival, Mitt Romney. Hillary Clinton has run the biggest fund-raising campaign of all. But those caucussed, tired of the machinations of George Bush and a war that was probably motivated by big business, went for a man who is giving them reason to believe.
The indicators of this “new world” so oft-predicted by Nelson Mandela in his speeches are everywhere: Argentina, one of the most chauvinistic nations on Earth, elected a woman; the trouncing of Thabo Mbeki at Polokwane was from voters who unequivocally said “you don’t see us, don’t hear us, have no empathy for our pain, hamba.”
The violence of the reaction to an African leader once again manipulating the polls, this time in Kenya, is showing that Africa’s time, too, has come. If anyone doubts the same could happen to South Africa, they should think again and remember that we have significantly more guns circulating in this society than Kenya. It’s a scenario we dare not risk.
Does that mean charges should be dropped against Jacob Zuma? Absolutely not. He has confidently said that if the courts find against him he will resign membership of the ANC. If he does not go to trial, he can never rid himself of serious charges. And too, if he does go to trial, he will have the opportunity to reveal precisely who benefited most from the arms deal — it’s a political cleansing South Africa needs to progress.
We should remember, too, the words of former South African ANC member of parliament Andrew Feinstein in his excellent book, After the Party (you cannot hope to understand present SA politics without reading it), in talking of the arms deal: “It is the president himself who is among the most manipulative and scheming politicians in the party, far more at home in smoke-filled rooms than in open discussion and debate.”
He quotes political commentator Andrew Stephen, who wrote: “[This] is the deceit of politics and the arrogance of power. Mediocre figures, given a little power and standing in the community, come to believe their own propaganda. They then ruthlessly depict anybody standing in their way as being part of the forces of darkness and evil. In the end they have no guiding morality and are driven solely by the pursuit of self-furtherance.”
Feinstein used those words with regard to Mbeki, but they apply to many leaders across the world, Bush, Mwai Kibaki in Kenya, the Taliban, the warlords and governors of Sudan, Robert Mugabe…
But there is hope and it comes not from leaders, but from citizens. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote more than 250 years ago in Democracy in America: “There can be no doubt that the moment when political rights are granted to a people who have till then been deprived of them is a time of crisis, a crisis which is often necessary but always dangerous.”
They’re words Kibaki in Kenya and every political grouping here needs need to reflect on. The point is this: democracy and the promises it brings, the rights it claims to enshrine, are a powerful narcotic. You cannot say to a people “you are entitled to”, “you have the right to”, and then turn around and say, well actually we can’t deliver because … especially after television cameras have shown the parade of expensive fashion and gleaming limousines at the opening of Parliament.
If politicians want to parade their personal success, they’d better ensure their constituents share in it too. De Tocqueville wrote: “Anarchy is almost always a consequence either of the tyranny or of the inability of democracy, but not of its impotence.”
In her death, Benazir Bhutto showed why she would not have made a good third-term president of Pakistan: anointing her husband as successor who contemptibly passed the buck to their 19-year-old son, who will be lucky if he survives the year, showed what a profoundly undemocratic leader she truly was. Her successor should have been a matter for democratic election within her party, but instead she clung to political dynasty, which globally is being rejected.
The next four-and– half weeks will be fascinating. Kenya will remain unstable unless Kibaki stands down, which is unlikely, or he agrees to a power-sharing government — something foreign governments will press him to do, but which he is unlikely to actively work with. This is a nation to watch for assassination attempts, either against Kibaki or his rival, Raila Odinga.
Jacob Zuma delivers his first report to the ANC and the nation on January 8 — it will be the most important speech of his life. On February 18 elections take place in Pakistan — any result there will essentially have little meaning, the country will continue to be unstable.
Super Tuesday traditionally takes place in New Hampshire where US primaries will take place next Tuesday, January 8. But this time the date that will determine much of the course of the US elections is February 3, ’super duper Tuesday’, the biggest primary in US history where most delegates will be elected in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Minnesota and California.
As De Tocqueville observed: “The Americans have this great advantage, that they attained democracy without the sufferings of a democratic revolution and that they were born equal instead of becoming so.”
Oh, say! Can you see by the dawn’s early light … o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave: hope has returned to politics.
(*What joy it would be to reverse my New Year’s prediction that Hillary Clinton wins the US presidential elections and to see Obama win)
51 Responses to “Hope returns: Obama’s victory and global politics”
Charlene,
Of Mr Feinstein book, you say:
“you cannot hope to understand present SA politics without reading it”
Its filled with so many lies and mis-truths that it is a very bad yardstick for understanding SA politics. I say go to an ANC brach meeting to understand politics in SA. But I guess, just like everyone , you have an agenda to push.
Do you, perhaps, know why Mr Feinstein felt the need to be a secondary benefactor to corrupt actions. If he felt so strongly about the allegations he levels in his book, why did I have to pay 160 rands to be informed of these ‘truths’?
But Charlene, its still a long way to go for Obama.Keep on hoping though, it hurts no one.
As for your other views, Nelson Mandela’s reconciliation miracle and Obama’s view that a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas can only happen in the US etc well, thats just the audacity of hope.No substance whatsoever.Keep hoping though, its going to be an interesting year.
Absolutely correct about Bhutto. 100% correct. This isn’t to say that Musharaf the stooge is any better or worse, he has his own texture of corruption.
Personally supported Obama for no other reason than race. He doesn’t differ much on policy, but he is his own man…that count for something..he represent a change that alludes to hope ..
It’s a little early to start calling the US Presidential race. Hillary is still a dominant force in the Democratic party, and almost impossible to beat. And bear in mind, if she beats Obama inside her own party he will never get a chance to be voted in by the general population.
It’s not too early Jarred, Obama’s lead is a very strong pull ahead in a state that is conservative and 97% white. He is going to be hard to beat in New Hampshire even though Clinton’s team believe they have secured that state. Everyone will be relooking at strategies and votes after this. I think he will take NH and definitely take 3 Feb. If he does that he’s in.
I’m not sure what you’re saying about Hillary beating Obama inside THEIR party. The primaries allow the general population to make their views known for the candidate and party of their choice -the Democratic leadership will not buck that. He is already being voted for by the general population. Part of what makes Ohio so important is that for some people it was the first time they had EVER voted, it’s one of the highest voter turnouts the US has ever seen.
All those factors speak volumes. This is really fascinating history taking place. Try reading newspapers some time they carry a lot for us all to learn from.
The betting is on. I too, in my New Year predictions, bet on Hillary but Ohio will be seen as a watershed with all sorts of important messages for a long time. Part of Hillary’s problem is that many don’t want Bill back in the White House. She is also not liked by many women - until recently I couldn’t stand her. I only decided to back her recently, not because I liked her but because I bought her message that the US needed a president who could start work on the first day - I now believe that what the US and the world needs is an ethical president, someone who is constant in his views - Obama never voted for Iraq, the US and we need someone who is respectful of voters. We really need some values in this poor sad world.
In Ohio more women voted for Barrack than her. There are more women voters in the US than men and that trend will continue. In many ways she is more male than Barrack: she is seen as a hard, opportunist, while he epitomises many ‘feminine’ values - warmth, empathy, a desire to make peace instead of score points.
He is without doubt the most impressive person to emerge in American politics in a long time & if we had more characters like him on the world stage, it wouldn’t be such an awful mess.
But let’s wait and see, I don’t mind being wrong as long as the world gets better governance than its experiencing now.
Even if Obama wins, GW Bush is printing so much money at the moment that by November 2008, the new US president may have a recession on his hands.
Charlene Smith, but you mustn’t degrade capitalism in your blogs. You must refer to specific instances and practices of capitalism that is unfair. Capitalism and big business is the greatest and most positive thing to come out of human history, it enriched Europe, America, Japan, China and South East Asia and now Russia.
Are you really interested in knowing why income equality has decreased under GW Bush? The true economic reason is because he cut taxes for the wealthy in America instead of raising them in 2001. He hoped big business would expand production and jobs to avoid a recession, in turn cutting the trade and government deficit. However, in doing so, the federal reserve had to keep on printing mountains of money to service the increasing debt owed to foreigners, finance the cost of the war and pay for government and consumer expenditure. ( For the record, I was against the tax cut, it didn’t make economic sense. )
So it is my belief that, what you identify as the Messiah, Jacob Zuma, because he doesn’t speak down to people and that doesn’t belong to big business, can be described as nothing more than poor economic choices by Mbeki and GW Bush.
What proof do you have that Mbeki caters for big business only? Inflation is low - that means the cost of bread is low for poor people. Jobs are being created at a high pace, the economy is growing at 4.7%. The South African Rand is one of the strongest currencies in the world: real incomes are up 22% since 1999 - Mbeki caters for the poor. If anything, the problem is at the service delivery side, corruption, for example 88% of the municipal spending of the Eastern Cape budget is unaccounted for in 2006.
I am also pleased that Obama might win and the implications for Africa. SA might even get a chance to get a bigger slice of the US and world defense industry market. That means more jobs for South Africans, money, investment from companies like General Dynamics, BAE, Boeing, Honeywell and hundreds of other defense companies in a wide ranging group of industries. Every rand that is exported, means the currency stronger. It gives the poor in the street the ability to afford an imported radio from China or elsewhere. And the defense industry is necessary: Africa cannot allow itself to be defenseless against rebels, invaders and criminals.
All writers, should first examine the mathematical implications of their actions before indulging in criticism.
Stirring words, Charlene, but I think that it is always good to remember that politicians everywhere are scumbags - always have been, always will be. Obama is no different. Obama’s speeches are written for him - not one word is heartfelt or sincere. It is all deliberately scripted to push the buttons of a nation that holds WWF, monster trucks, Britney Spears, creationism and supersized burgers close to its heart.
At at the end of the day Obama - like everyone else before him - will succumb to big business, diluted or abandoned ethics will be explained away as patriotism, destruction of the environment will be justified as protecting the American obsession with consumption from the threat of China, and the only thing that will be different about the man in the White House will be the colour of his skin. He will be as reptilian as every other man before him. Hilary and Edwards are in a weaker position - she is a ballbreaker, and even women say that women make the worst bosses, and Edwards is a trial attorney, a profession so universally loathed that there is a whole new circle of Hell just for them.
So - as the saying goes - the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I have been living in New York, USA for a year now and followed the Presidential primary race from day one. One thing that really frustrated me is the way the lobbyist and the print and electronic media would give bias information (or so i think) to the public. In fact i believed that they had chosen their favored winners and the only thing they were doing was to influence the American public.
Obama rose above the predictions and conventional wisdom of the lobbyists and journalists who believed he would not make it. The race card was also on people’s minds as the comment that stood out in New York was that America was not ready for a person of color to be President.
Well, we saw last night how Obama turned early predictions upside town. In fact Iowa, whose population is 94% white said America is ready for a black President. Women voters have said that they want him to lead them and the young voters also made their point, that is that they want change.
Obama’s speech of change and hope was a masterpiece and it is the talk of the country today. He is the new guy people are wathcing now. In fact, i believe that he was making a statement with that speeech. Here he was getting hope from Iowans when hopelessness was painted on his campaign. I learned one thing from his win; never follow polls and socalled expert advice, but keep on hoping until no more.
I am also very much impressed with the media coverage of the primaries by the media powerhouses. The infrastructue is immense and comments and updates on the hour and in your face. I stand/sit in awe and admiration by simply watching how they go about their business.
Well, it is only the beginning of the race and mind you that many of the contenders are showing fatigue already. It is mindboggling, you have to be here to experience the buzz and nostalgia to realize what it takes to run for the vacancy of American President.
Eek! You mean Iowa, not Ohio. I wouldn’t expect non-Americans to know the difference but they are as distinct as Bahrain and Bahamas. (Well, perhaps not quite that distinct.)
Go Obama! Bill Clinton once remarked that there’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what’s right with America. Too bad that includes his wife.
Although I enjoy your enthusiasm, as a lifelong leftist living in the US, I can’t but read statements such as “I now believe that what the US and the world needs is an ethical president” with a bit of a sad chuckle. The world and the US have always needed that, but the US voted in Bush twice, once long after human rights abuses at Gitmo were front page news. Ethics aint top of mind over here, I believe it’s a tremendous leap of faith to point to Iowa and say Americans have shifted their priorities.
I just returned from a road trip through the American South, and I feel like a southern baptist like Huckabee will appeal to this nation’s inclinations; their unfortunate confusion of “straight talk” with real substantive morals.
Moreover, I have fears that yet again we may have a Nader factor — I know it’s a frightfully simplistic way to say it — but we may have a smart, capable, and devoted candidate pull numbers in the wrong direction.
Sorry to be so cranky, I’d love, LOVE, to be proven wrong.
Super Tuesday will shed more light, but I feel that Hillary’s attempt to show the voters what big balls she has, might backfire.
Last year, there were pleas from within the Dem ranks to withdraw from the race because the view was that if she wins, the Republicans have a rallying point. The Clintons are loathed by a significant section of the American population and, like here, the vote *may* be against a candidate as much as for a candidate. Besides her relationship with I-did-not-have-sex-with-that-woman, her stance on Iraq is also going to hurt her. The population are so gatvol of the Iraq fiasco, that they may not forgive her voting record as a Senator.
Barack Obama also has his problems; I agree with you that he is the most impressive candidate. However, while America may be the land of the free, it is also the land of the bigot. There are millions of people in America who, over-their-dead-body, would vote for a woman or a black (with Muslim ties). Sad, but true.
If either Obama or Clinton win the primaries, they are going to be competing against a white, male, god-faring, tough-on-terrorism Republican, and I would not at all be surprised to see the Repub’s occupy the White House again. You would think that impossible after the current idiot, but stranger things have happened.
So the Dem’s face an interesting choice:
Do they vote for someone they want - like an Obama (who I think would be a brilliant President), or, do they vote for someone who they think will beat the Republican candidate? If so, Edwards is looking like a good compromise.
Dare we hope that the lying, stealing and cheating
that has haunted American politics over the last 7 years
has so permeated the American consciousness on such a deep level
that even the zombie - do what their told - types that voted for
Bush would actually propel Obama to the White House, because even they are sick to death of it?
As an american, I did get an indication that could actually happen.
Obamas Robert Kennedy type speech was the best i’ve heard in these parts in quite a long time. There is hope- maybe he can tap into it, and unite Americans for the first time in a long time. The cultural / political divide here is vast - but not impossible to bridge.
Jarred Cinman has the facts wrong… it is not Ohio but Iowa….. two very different states. Other facts on this discussion are misleading as well. Narrow minded opinions, I’m sick of it. Pick up your reading on International Politics, please…. and be open minded to listen to others with experience on the topic. I am a HUGE Hillary fan. She’s got it all together.
How and why do you claim that Americans are the greatest nation of the world, and worst of all, you say you love them. isn’t this the same nation that blindly and enthusiastically flowed a charlatan in occupation of Iraq, participating in the destruction of a weak nation 1000s of miles away. Why you? I am so disappointed.
You kept saying Ohio, but you meant Iowa. Different states.
I am an Obama backer from his home state of Illinois.
Though you got the state name wrong, your facts are otherwise correct. Obama’s sweep was quite astounding and he got more women to support him than did Hillary. His support among young people of all ethnicities is at a level not seen since the days of Bobby Kennedy.
The Iowa caucuses were open to anyone. Obama got an enormous portion of people who normally classify themselves as independents, and he got the largest number of crossover Republicans.
Greetings from Los Angeles! I found your blog via Andrew Sullivan’s. In your follow-up comment, I believe you meant to write Iowa when you wrote Ohio. I only note that because Ohio is my state of origin! Anyhow, it’s interesting to read a South African’s take on the U.S. elections — state mix-ups included.
I think I’ll get Feinstein’s book, if Khosi’s angry comments are anything to go by. For me, Mbeki as a man of small cliques and pipe-smoke filled rooms appears to correspond with the President’s own recent admission that he enjoys team meetings more than public events. There are leaders who enjoy touching their own people more than scheming with an elite ‘think tank’. The people usually prefer the first type of leaders.
As for Obama, Musa cynically implores Charlene to ‘keep hoping’. Musa, you must be reminded that it is indeed ‘hoping’ that brought America out in Iowa. It is hope that has sabotaged carefully laid out schemes of the likes of McCain, Rudy, Thompson and Clinton who behaved like experience is the way to go. Today they are in a panick to cast themselves as agents of hope, just like Obama. How sweet. You see, hope dies last. And Obama offers a new life to American and world politics. It is good for him that he is not concerned with ‘race’, but with human beings.
I agree that Bhutto was an undemocratic leader. She was too obssessed with power for power’s sake. It is a tragedy, nonetheless, to lose such a vibrant voice in that gloomy country.
Your article lacks something-class content. Please be more more explicit about this.
Don’t say ” The angriest voters are those battling economically while the rich flaunt their wealth.”
Say, “The angriest voters are the exploited masses of workers, in particular, the unemployed.”
Lets take the bull by the horns !!!
By the way I have read Feinstein’s book. The contents does not surprise me but he worries me. Who is he ??!!
B.SOOKNANAN (BARRISTER-AT-LAW) (MARGINALISED VETERAN FREEDOM FIGHTER) MASERU on January 5th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Obama is great. But is it a flash in the pan?Perhaps the New Hampshire primary next week will tell us whether the Obama bandwagon will continue to roll.
I SURRENDER! IOWA and not Ohio! My apologies, I wrote in haste and clearly my brain was away shopping … thank you all for pointing out the error, nice to know we have such keen fact checkers, it will certainly keep me on my toes in future
Charlene
The scourge of political correctness strikes again. Another election based on the color of a man’s skin. What track record has he actually got beside rousing speeches? Denzel Washington, the actor, made many of those in his movies, also written for him. And he has played black politicians, so he has got some experience. Shouldn’t Denzel be president?
Is your “hope” based on the many failures of black rulers in Africa and South Africa?
There are population groups in South Africa who are in a fight for their existence as a result of racial discrimination. What we need are people with a balanced perspective to highlight our own problems. Not Oprah Winfrey wannabees.
NASDAQ: It is likely that the rand will slip below R7.50:US$1 against a weak dollar, growth will slow, inflation will average 7% and the balance of payments will remain dependent on short-term capital inflows. If such inflows should decline for any reason—and general emerging-market malaise could prompt a downturn—Mr Zuma or his deputy stands to inherit a very difficult economic situation in mid-2009 – The Economist, 4 January 2007.
Or try this: • Growth in house prices slowed to a rate below 10% for the first time in November last year. And although economic growth was 4,7% in the third quarter of 2007, business confidence was sharply down according to the FNB Residential Property Barometer.
* Perhaps this too? GDP growth of 5.4% in 2006 is likely to have slowed to around 5% in 2007 and some local forecasters predict that it will slip below 4% this year, while the balance-of-payments deficit is at a 20-year high of more than 8% of GDP, The Economist surveying South Africa, 4 January 2007.
It’s little more than 10 years since being non-white was legalized in South Africa, since democracy was legalized, but that doesn’t stop white South Africans from pointing a self-righteous finger at America’s ‘generations of disastrous policy’…
Oy vey. How soon you forget your own long history of evil.
It must be quite a comfortable to be a morally superior white South African, when you are surrounded by underpaid Black servants who pick up every dropped bath towel and close every cupboard door behind you… not to mention you never do your own laundry or tend your own gardens. ‘That’s what the Blacks are for’, right?
Reality check: if you’re a privileged white anywhere in the world, you’re a part of the problem.
In South Africa politicians are elected every day on skin colour. No matter that they are incompetent, that they have no skills, that they are criminals, if they have the right skin colour they get elected.
In South Africa people are given jobs and contracts worth billions based purely on skin colour, no other criteria.
It is not something that can work. Most people agree that things have been sliding backwards since this system was implemented.
Politics and everything else will only work when skin colour is no longer a factor and people are elected and appointed on competence and ability, no matter what their race.
Mr. SOOKNANAN says let us tell it like it is, I agree. The question is how many people can stare the truth in the eyes without fear. Already your posting is full of insults and you are clearly losing it. You seem unable to keep a balanced perspective.
I am not one of those that tiptoe around certain race groups out of political correctness. Let every race in this country stand on their own feet, for a chance.
Bob Herbert in the New York Times, 5 January: “If the Clintons are going to stop Mr. Obama, they need to do it now. If he wins the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, the news media will go nuts and he will head toward the Jan. 19 caucuses in Nevada and the Jan. 26 primary in South Carolina (where half the voters are African-American) with incredible momentum.”
It is my belief that WW III is already happening as control for especially scarce energy resources intensifies. Any president in the US will be forced to compromise fighting to maintain global dominance.
I hope that the US can go back to being just another country by electing a dove rather than a hawk but it is unlikely to happen.
Our economy will falter over the next 5 years and then we will see what our government is made of as it is easy to rule when the economy is booming and the times are good. JZ’s ANC has a difficult time ahead stemming from a lack of energy resources.
“I am also pleased that Obama might win and the implications for Africa. SA might even get a chance to get a bigger slice of the US and world defense industry market. That means more jobs for South Africans, money, investment from companies like General Dynamics, BAE, Boeing, Honeywell and hundreds of other defense companies in a wide ranging group of industries”
The world now spends $1,100,000,000,000 per year on defense budgets. America’s share is a little over $653,000,000,000. Well over what the rest of the world combined spends.
Mathematical implications? Recently someone calculated a breakdown of what the US could have paid for with the money that has gone for the occupation of Iraq. Wiping out world hunger in 15 years. Educating all the poor children of the world.
Those would have been worth going to 9 trillion in debt.
As far as this affects our candidates for POTUS, Edwards has the lowest plan for the millitary and it contains the two most appropriate actions. Raising the bar and recruitment to replace those we have lost from injury and death PLUS the drain of the best and the brightest who are giving up on plans for a career in the US millitary. Equipment maintenance. One of the biggest complaints from the rank and file - we keep developing expensive new weapons and equipment while failing to maintain what we have.
Some people loathe trial lawyers due to the actions of a percentage of them. If the movie “Erin Brokovich” played in your part of the world, it is a fine example of what they can do for individuals and countries. My understanding of Edwards’ work is that it was in that
level of integrity. Trial lawyers will be working for the family of the 17 year old who died because her insurance company (CIGNA) disallowed her liver transplant. As an RN (30 years), we need someone who can fight the insurance companies, big pharma, the hospitals and some doctors.
We will also need someone to start breaking up the millitary-industrial complex. Cutting back the over 700 overseas bases. Which is not easy since EVERY Congressional district in America (435) has at least one company that makes something for the defense industry.
No one will do it just by being POTUS. I think Edwards has the skills and experience with corrupt businesses to pull it off if Americans get behind him. Obama might be able to grow into it and I would be fine if he gets the nom. I am seriously concerned that he could be assassinated and also think Edwards/Obama would be perfect. Obama would have 8 years as VP to gain experience and do a lot that he is obviously capable of doing. Not only would he be in a great position to be elected in ‘16, he could probably get re-elected in ‘20.
But we are all very aware that voting, like buying, is generally an emotional decision, not a rational one. I personally have been involved in the civil rights movements here since the 50’s. The Iowa caucuses were proof to me that America is closer to judging a man by the content of his character than the color of his skin, than many of us had thought. It’s beyond wonderful.
Charlene, really good column. Don’t feel bad about a small slip. Bob Hebert, who is mentioned here, had to apologize for using the wrong date of MLK’s death. I am impressed that you know as much about America and our politics as you do.
My biggest hope is that more Americans wake up to the responsibility we have to make informed choices and VOTE. Maybe we can rejoin the world community in a more cooperative and helpful attitude.
The US the greatest !!!
The most hated and reviled no doubt, but great in what other aspects ?
Corrupt to the core, bankrupt both financially and morally, repressed, lazy, incompetent, under-educated, greedy, mean, dishonest, all these come to mind when talking about the US, but great !!
Come on Charlene, you must be on something that is taking you very high to believe your own hype, but hey, that is probably the strongest US quality, bluster and hype…and you seem right down that alley…
Quote: “The scourge of political correctness strikes again. Another election based on the color of a man’s skin. What track record has he actually got beside rousing speeches? Denzel Washington, the actor, made many of those in his movies, also written for him. And he has played black politicians, so he has got some experience. Shouldn’t Denzel be president?” John
Comment: Does John have a calendar? John read it, please. This is 2008, not 1988. Please wake up! We are so lucky in SA that white people like John are just like drop of water in the ocean otherwise black South Africans would have been driven to Zimbabwe long time ago. Unfortunately white people like John don’t intimidate me at all, they are just a ‘drop’ of water under the bridge.
Charlene Smith, thanks for the well balanced and inspiring article. What a good way of starting a year. I hope this will serve as a lesson to JZuma that if he grows bigger wings we can kick him out any time! Irrespective of whether he is black or green!
Charlene, Hotafter2tots posed a question though! Are you avoiding him/her?
Dearest Bheka and HotAfter2Tots - I’m not marrying anyone this year, thank you
But I am trying to get to Kenya to help with relief efforts - it’s becoming hectic. To you and others who read this please consider making donations to Red Cross or St John’s Ambulance and tell them specifically it must be directed toward Kenyan relief efforts, this situation is not good.
Don’t get your hopes too high: The Bu$h Crime family has already STOLEN two elections. Don’t be surprised if the corporate rulers of the USA steal another election.
What are wonderful and inspiring piece,Charlene Smith.Big up!!Unfortunately the world is full of pessimists,racists,tribalists and male chauvenists who are steeped in the politics of the 60s.Ordinary people have been fed nothing more than hatred for other races.No wonder there is too much bloodletting in the world.Yes,hope will drive bad guys like Robert Mugabe and Kibaki into oblivion.
The ordinary man or woman in the street is getting wiser thanks to availability of uncensored information coming via various media.Leaders who turn themselves into demi-gods are no longer currency-even in Africa.The army and the police have slowed down the match for real freedom in Africa.However,that state of affairs will end sooner than we thought.Dictators,manipulative and corrupt leaders are warned.Change is coming -even in Africa and the Middle East.
“The US the greatest !!! The most hated and reviled no doubt, but great in what other aspects ?
Corrupt to the core, bankrupt both financially and morally, repressed, lazy, incompetent, under-educated, greedy, mean, dishonest, all these come to mind when talking about the US, but great !!” - Francois Williams
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Jeez Francois - that’s a bit much, don’t you think? I think maybe…just *maybe* you’re being a tiny bit…you know, hyper-critical? You’re just being super-mean for no reason. Sorry we have serious flaws, done some bad things and the last 7 years especially have been a nightmare! (not a request to list our foreign policy mistakes and crimes or hypocrisy and problems at home - thanks - heard it all a gazillion times in many an annoying lecture by wildly self-righteous non-Americans), but come on. Criticism is fine; hate is not. Please work on a more balanced perspective about the USA - it may be enlightening and less infuriating for you.
Anyway…interesting perspective, Charlene. I am waiting now for results to start coming in from New Hampshire and I’m very excited for a big Obama victory. He came into Americans’ consciousness at the 2004 Democratic Convention. His speech was a revelation and nobody who watched it could possibly have *not* wondered whether this man would be the President one day. I’m not worried about him being “electable” as a black man - it’s hard to argue that when he keeps winning elections - though the honeymoon isn’t going to last forever. It will be neither easy nor pretty. So many people want Obama and the new page he will turn. Aaaannndd then a lot of people think Jesus rode dinosaurs. But please don’t give up on us yet. Thanks for your support! OBAMA ‘08!!!
Hmmm like I said Charlene, keep hoping. Besides, it seem t me that should Obama lead the Democrates into the elections the Republicans (no matter who their candidate) with take them to the cleaners. On the other hand Hillary can withstand a Republican onslaught. Much as I irrationally hope for Obama, Hillary is the best and sane bet.
Well, the votes are in and it looks like the Clinton war machine is back on track. But, hey, its a long way to the convention and my money is on John Edwards.
One just has to look at the nonsense spoken by this David D to see what liberals are all about. These are now the stereotypes who voted for Obama.
Uninformed, subjective, hysterical, melodramatics fuelled by anti-white racist propaganda, their limited understanding of any subject and their never-ending craving for attention. They are the reason we are living this nightmare in South Africa today. Best to ignore them.
Why does no-one seem concerned that this man has a Moslem middle name and some say, Middle East connections? How soon do they forget 9/11?
Oh yes, and his wife made a big issue in Oprah Winfrey that he f*rts in bed and that, apparently, he smells so bad that his kids can’t come near him.
Ok, let me put the big spoon away and wait for the flak.
So John, what your saying is that voting for a black man with a muslim middle-name is evil and it will bring about the end of America, just like the blacks are doing in SA?
Ok, here’s my time to shine and get the approval of the guys who run TL >>> I APPROVE.
Hi, Liansky, nice to hear from you, lucid, non-chemically-induced comments, as always.
Here’s a riddle for you. HUSSEIN OBAMA. His father was from AHVRIKAH (American pronunciation) and his mother from Kansas, but, now wait for it, “she was white as snow”, in his own words. His father returned to his roots (his father’s roots) to study when he, Obama, was 2 years old and he, Obama, grew up with his mother and grandparents, in the main.
Now in our rainbow nation where about 55 million people of different heritages, Indians, coloureds, Muslims, Chinese, Polynesians, Mauritians, etc. etc. are all classified as black, because it means that us 55 million Africans can present a more unified, voting fodder front to the evil, plotting, hankering-to-the-past whities, all evil 3,9 million of them. Of course being omni-powerfull, us that is, and having shown the rest of the world how to do successful democracy, the chances are good that America will let us dictate our brand of racial classification to them and promptly change all their systems so that all Indians (the red ones) Spanish, Hawaiians, Mexicans, Australians, Britons, etc. etc. will all be classified as BLHAACKHE (american pronunciation).
Now, until that happens what will Obama actually be? Be he black or might there be some of the evil blood of white colonials running through his veins. HA!!. You tell me, my man
John, the reason why people are crying out for change in America is because of the insurance companies, the haliburtons and mercenary companies making billions of dollars out of unscrupulous dealings and favoritism. How different is that to what you mention is happening in South Africa. I am not condoning corruption, but do not pretend that all is right in the western world.
You mention that people are elected based on the color of their skin, well at least a democratic process has been followed. Is that not what democracy ascribes to, that the majority rule. Do you really believe that blacks would vote for the continuation of white rule and oppression after going through oppression for more than 400 years.
Are you telling us that all the leaders of the apartheid era were educated. You know very well that thousands of your brothers and sisters left school with a standard eight certificate, but they still got good jobs, while blacks with higher education were jobless.
You should thank the circumstances under which your brothers and sisters governed South Africa. They had to please only the white segment of the population, whereas the ANC government have to fend for everyone. This means that limited resources had to be spread out to cover the whole country. It is obvious that they will have more difficulties to fulfill the tasks. Come on John, do not be so narrowminded, but join the solution seekers in the new South Africa.
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Charlene Smith is a multi-award-winning journalist, author and media consultant. Her latest book is "Committed to Me." She writes for newspapers and magazines in South Africa and internationally and has had 13 books published, one of which was shortlisted for an Alan Paton award.
Television documentaries for which she has worked have also won major international awards.
She has worked as a broadcast journalist and radio-station manager. Smith's areas of expertise are politics, economics, violence, women's and children's issues and HIV and Aids. She is frequently invited to address conferences around the world. www.charlenesmith.net
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Charlene,
Of Mr Feinstein book, you say:
“you cannot hope to understand present SA politics without reading it”
Its filled with so many lies and mis-truths that it is a very bad yardstick for understanding SA politics. I say go to an ANC brach meeting to understand politics in SA. But I guess, just like everyone , you have an agenda to push.
Do you, perhaps, know why Mr Feinstein felt the need to be a secondary benefactor to corrupt actions. If he felt so strongly about the allegations he levels in his book, why did I have to pay 160 rands to be informed of these ‘truths’?
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