Democratic change

So Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck and neck in the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

The scramble for the spoils at the Super Tuesday primaries was just really the beginning, and although there’s a long way to go before the elections in autumn 2008, my bet is still on Clinton.

Not because she is a woman, but because I believe it’s time America saw its first female president and began to heal itself and help heal the world at large.

Having said that, I am not really averse to Barack Obama becoming the first black president either as he would probably heal the divide in his country and around the world and recognise diversity (race, gender, nationality, religion) as a source of strength to create a really multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. Congratulations, too, to John McCain in becoming the leading contender for the Republican nomination for president.

However, I know in my heart that a Republican president again would mean at least four more years of gloom and doom.

As the XPRESS team watched the results of the polling on Wednesday in Dubai, I was amazed that white, black, Asian, Hispanic or other – the melting pot that is truly America – came out in large numbers to vote and spur a change in how their country is governed.

I was also amazed that thousands of miles away from the action, millions of people (just like my team and I) were watching the race on television.

Some of us were rooting for favoured candidates; others just hoping that the people of America – the most powerful democracy in the world – would vote in a president capable of nurturing the hopes of her/his people and ensuring a booming economy instead of squandering trillions on war or preparing for another one.

People all over are the same. Americans want to keep their homes and educate their children, afford health care and keep their families safe and the rest of the world wants exactly the same thing. A war in the Middle East or anywhere else affects the lives of people everywhere and an end to the same old style of governing in Washington can possibly make the world a better place.

Bring in the Democrats!

Nirmala Janssen
Editor@alnisrmedia.com

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