All the President's Men

Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against.- W.C. Fields

President and the Challenger

I have a confession- in the American Presidential elections, arguably the most important in the world, I want Barack Obama to lose. It is that sort of a visceral hatred that can stem only from a dream gone sour, or high altar of hope and change metamorphosising into pettiness reserved only for the ordinary. And Obama's Presidency has been an ordinary one.

 My earliest recollections of American Presidential elections was of 2000, when Governor Bush won with the help of an accommodating Supreme Court after having lost the popular vote (America choses it President by electoral college, where a state-winner takes all the electoral votes with tiny exception of two states). What I didn't realise was that this was the period of increasing polarisation in America, where political differences gave way to almost absolute moral positions- either you were pro-choice or anti-abortion, big government sponsor or a manic budget slasher, supporter of gay rights or a staunch defender of traditional marriage. Politics then didn't only mean the essential give-and-take but some sort of a moral crusade, where people with different opinion than yours were branded in a villainous caricature. Washington then seemed a place of intrigue, hopelessly pocketed by lobbyists, interest-groups and full of vitriolic hatred. Obama promised to change that.

Obama's story is impressive and in spite of tomorrow's election, will remain inspirational for generations to come. His dark skin, exotic background (a Kenyan father, childhood days in Indonesia, birth far from American mainland in Hawaii), a muslim-sounding middle name of 'Hussein', supreme confidence and self-assuredness (he managed to defeat two of the biggest players in American politics- Clintons in Democratic primary and Republican juggernaut in Presidential elections) were a sort of stuff that dreams are made up of. But it was the message that won converts- rhetoric of hope and bi-partisanship by someone who essentially was a Washington outsider.

It was 2008, it will never be again

America and the world drooled over this young and hopeful man, who after dreadful years of unilateral Bush Presidency was the best that American dream boasted. 2008 was a time that came in a generation, when even in a remote corner of India, this writer felt pride in being able to feel this momentous turn of history. Yes, we can- we all were Americans that day!

Probably it is the nature of dreams to be muffled by the dread of politics. Obama's has been a mediocre presidency. The economy is sluggish with stubbornly high unemployment, Guantanamo bay is still open, government debt and fiscal deficit are alarmingly high, almost nothing on immigration reforms or climate change, and the new-deal in foreign affairs has been met with cold-shoulder almost everywhere-- from middle-east to Russia. The country is as bitterly divided as ever. A President who is so naturally eloquent was surprisingly unable to get his message- from (admirable) universal healthcare to consensus on taxation and spending- across to the voters and to the other side. He did indeed inherit the worst financial catastrophe since the great-depression, yet he seemed unable or unwilling to make tough choices, sort of which define great Presidencies. One of the most damning (and true) criticism of his has been his inablitiy to understand that great engine of American growth- its business and entrepreneurship.

Spoiling the party: Tea party and its discontent

His Republican challenger Mitt Romney confuses me. Personally I thought of him as a pragmatic businessman (he was a founder of Bain capital), a good manager (CEO of Salt lake winter olympics) and a decent governor (of Massachussets- a solidly Democratic state). Right from the primary elections I wanted him to win, consoling myself that any sane person in Republican primary has to say some rather silly things on the staple of 'Guns, God and Gays' before being selected. The Republicans look mad- tea party (of 2010 Congressional election fame) has taken it too far to the right. 

Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up

And Mr. Romney has taken too many u-turns on important policies, though in the matter of economy I think he will be a much better President than Barack Obama- short on rhetoric and good for business. I would vote for that pragmatic man, who was slightly visible in the first Presidential debate. Unfortunately, in so many faces that Mr. Romney has, it is hard to find what he truly looks like. Romnesia, eh!

This is probably the closest Presidential race in living memory. It has been a rather entertaining one, if a little disturbing and bitter. At stake is the nature of American state and a certain vision of the country. We, the world, are eagerly watching.