You are here: Diigo Home > Groups > US ELECTION 2008 > andy millingen's contribution in US ELECTION 2008
The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for An America that disdains Obama for his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse All comments () * Jonathan Freedland * o Jonathan Freedland o The Guardian, o Wednesday September 10 2008 o Article history The feeling is familiar. I had it four years ago and four years before that: a sinking feeling in the stomach. It's a kind of physical pessimism which says: "It's happening again. The Democrats are about to lose an election they should win - and it could not matter more." In my head, I'm not as anxious for Barack Obama's chances as I was for John Kerry's in 2004 or Al Gore's in 2000. He is a better candidate than both put together, and all the empirical evidence says this year favours Democrats more than any since 1976. But still, I can't shake off the gloom. Look at yesterday's opinion polls, which have John McCain either in a dead heat with Obama or narrowly ahead. Given the well-documented tendency of African-American candidates to perform better in polls than in elections - thanks to people who say they will vote for a black man but don't - this suggests Obama is now trailing badly. More troubling was the ABC News-Washington Post survey which found McCain ahead among white women by 53% to 41%. Two weeks ago, Obama had a 15% lead among women. There is only one explanation for that turnaround, and it was not McCain's tranquilliser of a convention speech: Obama's lead has been crushed by the Palin bounce. So you can understand my pessimism. But it's now combined with a rising frustration. I watch as the Democrats stumble, uncertain how to take on Sarah Palin. Fight too hard, and the Republican machine, echoed by the ditto-heads in the conservative commentariat on talk radio and cable TV, will brand Democrats sexist, elitist snobs, patronising a small-town woman. Do nothing, and Palin's rise will continue unchecked, her novelty making even Obama look stale, her star power energising and motivating the Republican base. So somehow Palin slips out of reach, no revelation - no matter how jaw-dropping or career-ending were it applied to a normal candidate - doing sufficient damage to slow her apparent march to power, dragging the charisma-deprived McCain behind her. We know one of Palin's first acts as mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska was to ask the librarian the procedure for banning books. Oh, but that was a "rhetorical" question, says the McCain-Palin campaign. We know Palin is not telling the truth when she says she was against the notorious $400m "Bridge to Nowhere" project in Alaska - in fact, she campaigned for it - but she keeps repeating the claim anyway. She denounces the dipping of snouts in the Washington trough - but hired costly lobbyists to make sure Alaska got a bigger helping of federal dollars than any other state. She claims to be a fiscal conservative, but left Wasilla saddled with debts it had never had before. She even seems to have claimed "per diem" allowances - taxpayers' money meant for out-of-town travel - when she was staying in her own house. Yet somehow none of this is yet leaving a dent. The result is that a politician who conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan calls a "Christianist" - seeking to politicise Christianity the way Islamists politicise Islam - could soon be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Remember, this is a woman who once addressed a church congregation, saying of her work as governor - transport, policing and education - "really all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God". If Sarah Palin defies the conventional wisdom that says elections are determined by the top of the ticket, and somehow wins this for McCain, what will be the reaction? Yes, blue-state America will go into mourning once again, feeling estranged in its own country. A generation of young Americans - who back Obama in big numbers - will turn cynical, concluding that politics doesn't work after all. And, most depressing, many African-Americans will decide that if even Barack Obama - with all his conspicuous gifts - could not win, then no black man can ever be elected president. But what of the rest of the world? This is the reaction I fear most. For Obama has stirred an excitement around the globe unmatched by any American politician in living memory. Polling in Germany, France, Britain and Russia shows that Obama would win by whopping majorities, with the pattern repeated in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. If November 4 were a global ballot, Obama would win it handsomely. If the free world could choose its leader, it would be Barack Obama. The crowd of 200,000 that rallied to hear him in Berlin in July did so not only because of his charisma, but also because they know he, like the majority of the world's population, opposed the Iraq war. McCain supported it, peddling the lie that Saddam was linked to 9/11. Non-Americans sense that Obama will not ride roughshod over the international system but will treat alliances and global institutions seriously: McCain wants to bypass the United Nations in favour of a US-friendly League of Democracies. McCain might talk a good game on climate change, but a repeated floor chant at the Republican convention was "Drill, baby, drill!", as if the solution to global warming were not a radical rethink of the US's entire energy system but more offshore oil rigs. If Americans choose McCain, they will be turning their back on the rest of the world, choosing to show us four more years of the Bush-Cheney finger. And I predict a deeply unpleasant shift. Until now, anti-Americanism has been exaggerated and much misunderstood: outside a leftist hardcore, it has mostly been anti-Bushism, opposition to this specific administration. But if McCain wins in November, that might well change. Suddenly Europeans and others will conclude that their dispute is with not only one ruling clique, but Americans themselves. For it will have been the American people, not the politicians, who will have passed up a once-in-a-generation chance for a fresh start - a fresh start the world is yearning for. And the manner of that decision will matter, too. If it is deemed to have been about race - that Obama was rejected because of his colour - the world's verdict will be harsh. In that circumstance, Slate's Jacob Weisberg wrote recently, international opinion would conclude that "the United States had its day, but in the end couldn't put its own self-interest ahead of its crazy irrationality over race". Even if it's not ethnic prejudice, but some other aspect of the culture wars, that proves decisive, the point still holds. For America to make a decision as grave as this one - while the planet boils and with the US fighting two wars - on the trivial basis that a hockey mom is likable and seems down to earth, would be to convey a lack of seriousness, a fleeing from reality, that does indeed suggest a nation in, to quote Weisberg, "historical decline". Let's not forget, McCain's campaign manager boasts that this election is "not about the issues." Of course I know that even to mention Obama's support around the world is to hurt him. Incredibly, that large Berlin crowd damaged Obama at home, branding him the "candidate of Europe" and making him seem less of a patriotic American. But what does that say about today's America, that the world's esteem is now unwanted? If Americans reject Obama, they will be sending the clearest possible message to the rest of us - and, make no mistake, we shall hear it. · freedland@guardian.co.uk About this article Close Jonathan Freedland: The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday September 10 2008 on p31 of the Comment & debate section. It was last updated at 00:29 on September 10 2008. * Print thisPrintable version * Send to a friendSend to a friend * Share thisShare * Clip thisClip * Contact usContact us * Resize font larger | smaller Share Close * Digg * reddit * Google Bookmarks * Yahoo! My Web * del.icio.us * StumbleUpon * Newsvine * livejournal * Facebook * BlinkList Email Close Recipient's email address Your name Add a note (optional) Contact us Close * Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@guardian.co.uk * Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk * If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk * Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 7278 2332 * o Advertising guide o License/buy our content World news * US elections 2008 · * Barack Obama · * John McCain · * United States · * Sarah Palin · * Joe Biden · * Democrats · * Republicans Comment is free More comment Related Aug 30 2008 Letter: Canute's lessons for Barack Obama Aug 28 2008 US election: Biden shows why Obama chose him as a running mate Aug 25 2008 Michael Tomasky: To get the momentum back, Obama must go after McCain Aug 25 2008 Editorial: US Democrats: Caution and confidence in Colorado * Print thisPrintable version * Send to a friendSend to a friend * Share thisShare * Clip thisClip * Contact usContact us * Article historyArticle history About this article Close This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday September 10 2008 on p31 of the Comment & debate section. It was last updated at 00:29 on September 10 2008. Share Close * Digg * reddit * Google Bookmarks * Yahoo! My Web * del.icio.us * StumbleUpon * Newsvine * livejournal * Facebook * BlinkList Email Close Recipient's email address Your name Add a note (optional) Contact us Close * Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@guardian.co.uk * Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk * If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk * Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 7278 2332 * o Advertising guide o License/buy our content Bestsellers from the Guardian shop * 'Alex Lighting' floor and table book lights 'Alex Lighting' floor and table book lights Designed for the reader, 'Alex' booklights feature a pool of crisp,controllable light. From: £84.99 o Visit the Guardian offers shop o Buy eco, organic and fair trade products comment is free… Latest posts * Richard Reeves 3hr 18min ago Pick'n'mix progressives Richard Reeves: Cameron's aims on social justice sound good, but will need state action that is hardly Conservative Post your comment * Jonathan Freedland 3hr 18min ago The world's verdict will be harsh if the US rejects the man it yearns for Jonathan Freedland: An America that disdains Obama for his global support risks turning current anti-Bush feeling into something far worse 110 comments Comment from the paper * Isabel Hilton: The Olympics party is over. Now China has to clean up * Ariane Sherine: Black hole silver linings * Simon Jenkins: This is what happens when a crime is redefined as war Free P&P at the Guardian bookshop * Contented Dementia o Contented Dementia o £17.99 with free UK delivery * White War o White War o £25.00 with free UK delivery * Browse the bestsellers lists * Buy books from the Guardian Bookshop Latest news on guardian.co.uk Last updated one minute ago * News Labour pins hopes on £1bn energy deal * Sport Liverpool footballer is seventh to be burgled * Comment is free This is what happens when a crime is redefined as war * Sponsored features * * Guardian Jobs * UK * USA UK * PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO A DISABLED PERSON independent living alternatives. promoting the right of disabled people to live ind…. £8-10 per hour. * Client Liaison Co-ordinator (Leadership and Manage… prevista ltd. north london. Circa £18,000 pa. * Research Project Manager consumer analysis group. marylebone, central london. £20-25,000. Browse all jobs USA * Pension Compliance Specialist the pension plan compliance specialist is experienced in the laws that impact retirement plan administration and retirement plan design, and who works closely... . ca. * Information Technology Consultant information technology consultant company... save to job file job description information technology consultant salary: $25,363 annually plus a... . wv. * Manufacturing Specialist established, profitable, nyse listed manufacturer with multi-state and international operations. the company has made a major decision to invest in a state of... . ar. Browse all jobs Related information World news * US elections 2008 · * Barack Obama · * John McCain · * United States · * Sarah Palin · * Joe Biden · * Democrats · * Republicans Comment is free A member of the Texas Republican delegation Republican convention: day four Sep 5 2008: John McCain wraps up the Republican convention with a speech aimed at winning over swing voters More galleries Aug 24 2008 Obama picks Senate foreign affairs expert as running mate Aug 23 2008 Poll: Is Joe Biden a good choice as Obama's VP? Aug 23 2008 Obama picks Joe Biden as Democratic vice-presidential nominee Aug 19 2008 Thomas Noyes: Barack Obama should pick Joe Biden as running mate US Presidential candidate Barack Obama and his running mate Joseph Biden at the Democratic Party Conference in Denver Joe Biden accepts vice-presidential nomination Aug 28 2008: The Delaware senator's speech to the Democratic party conference in Denver - and a surprise appearance by Barack Obama More videos * License/buy our content | * Privacy policy | * Terms & conditions | * Advertising guide | * Accessibility | * A-Z index | * Inside guardian.co.uk | * About guardian.co.uk | * Join our dating site today * guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
more from www.guardian.co.uk
andy millingen
Paul Ryan