The US presidential elections in 2008 are a big deal. A really big deal.
With a global hegemony, massive arms supplies and a lot at stake, who wins in 2008 is going to make a large difference. Of course, this is obvious, but some people do not realize the seriousness of the situation.
I live in the UK, and from here, I feel fear for the world about who is going to become the new president. They are a superpower, so why shouldn’t we be scared. It is vital that whoever wins is going to make choices that will benefit not just America, but the rest of the world.
My heart is filled with dread. Dread that the person who wins the election could be like Bush. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw where a family were standing by the TV, waiting for the results of presidential elections with guns to their heads.
However, despite all this fear, I have immense hope for the future. Hope that the next president of the US will choose to end war, to end torture, to follow international law, to shut down Guantanamo along with other illegal, secret prisons over the world and give the inmates fair trials at last. On top of these things, the US needs to rescue the economy; to get rid of the PATRIOT act and to stop invasive, big-brother-like citizen surveillance, among many other issues.
Sadly, US government do not really have a left wing. If you look at places like Sweden, even the most ‘liberal’ of US politicians look like despots when compared to Swedish politicians.
Despite the lack of liberal candidates, I believe there is a great hope for America. Super-Tuesday has just gone, with Barack Obama achieving great success in the elections. Hillary Clinton also did well, which in my opinion is a shame due to her support of the Iraq war.
John McCain and Mitt Romney got a large number of votes for the republicans. This is shocking since McCain stated that he thinks the US should stay in Iraq for 100 years, and equally disturbing is the fact that Romney has previously tried to justify totalitarianism, and, shockingly, is part of a group set up to deny the facts of global warming. That will go down excellently with the oil corporations. As you can tell, both Romney and McCain are very conservative.
I think Barack Obama will make a great president if he wins the elections, despite the ambiguity concerning his support or opposition to the Iraq war. This is a vital time in America, and the elections could mean that, if the right candidate becomes president, the US could get back on track again – away from war; away from torture; away from the crumbling economy and the rapid destruction of civil liberties.
I hope Americans have done what they think was right in who they voted for. Whoever wins, the winner is most likely going to be better than Bush..
