(“US election race baffles the punters” is the title SMH gives it)….
Assuming no imminent foreign policy crisis, the election will depend on two things: whether undecided voters blame the congressional Republicans more than the President for the state of the economy, and how many potential supporters the candidates can motivate to vote….
Voting for a president is also voting for a certain image of America, which explains the jubilation felt by so many when a young African-American with a radical past broke through conventional assumptions. Rekindling that excitement is difficult for Obama, but no one has claimed Romney is a charismatic candidate.
He will, however, be seen as safe, prepared for the job, and able to re-energise American business. Expect a Republican campaign that promises a more aggressive and dominant United States, and remember that American campaigns do not revolve around policy details in the way to which …[Australians] are accustomed.
I agree that this article is well worth reading, as few such pieces are. It’s always helpful to learn how others see us, and especially to learn how well-informed international observers see us, like this Aussie prof of political science.
I also agree that the election could well turn on WHOM the voters blame for the pitiful state of the economy. And I call attention to the signficant fact that the editor chose to allow the headline to say “who,” not the proper “whom.” (An aside: Hmmm, if you can’t trust newspaper editors to use good grammar, whom can you trust?).
Alas, when it comes to assigning blame and identifying a convenient scapegoat, there is more than enough blame to go around. Neither party really has anything to boast about, and a lot of which to be ashamed.
To me, what’s been fascinating, and disappointing, is that no conservative Republican has been able to emerge as the clear conservative alternative to Romney. The right flank of the party has been fractured, and no one has been able to beat out the others. Too bad, because Obama really is vulnerable this time around, and the Republicans ought to have been able to take this election in a landslide.
David Handy+
(in the interests of full disclosure, I haven’t voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter, and I now regret voting for him!)
[blockquote]… remember that American campaigns do not revolve around policy details in the way to which we are accustomed.[/blockquote]
Wow. Y’think?