Will they dare?
Friday, October 31, 2008 by Billy
I was quite sure at the time that, whoever the Democratic candidate would be, he would not be elected, especially because John McCain is not a far rightist neocon, as G.W. Bush is, but a respectable conservative politician.
Economically, it will not necessary be good news for the Europeans if Barack Obama is elected, especially because he will probably increase U.S. protectionism. Yet I do believe it will be a good thing for the people of that country. On the economical and social grounds first: the failure of the Republicans here is obvious. Also, for the image of a country that has essentially shown its worst facets for several years.
Today, a few days before the election to be held on November 4, Barack Obama leads in the polls by several percent. It is certainly not as much a landslide as in polls conducted elsewhere in the world though, and nobody knows how many people will not vote Obama at the end because "he is not like us". Yet Obama still leads in the polls, and early-voting Democrats are outnumbering Republicans in most sites.
I will be in Philadelphia next week, a direct onlooker of this huge event. Will U.S. citizens dare to elect him? If they do, hats off.
My grandmother is 82 years old and has voted Republican ever since she was a nurse during WWII. She lived in Alabama during segregation and it is still not rare for her family to use the "N" word when referring to black people. Despite this history, my grandmother already voted for Barack Obama on her absentee ballot. She has her Masters in Hospital Administration, and is a very smart lady. I think her actions say a lot about how betrayed this country feels at the way this country has been run. She bucked against her roots and her history and voted for a Democrat for the first time in her life.
I hope he wins.