COOL! A British View of JOHN KERRY (from The Observer)

[liberalpragmatist]

Great article -- shows how avidly people overseas are watching us and hoping that this country does the right thing.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1143402,00.html

The Vietnam vet will win

No candidate has more relevant personal experience or better policies than John Kerry, the man who'll beat Bush

Will Hutton
Sunday February 8, 2004
The Observer

(snip)

It is testimony to the profound dominance of conservatism on the American national consensus, with the noxious charge of not being patriotic that is levelled by Bush against any critic, that the best way any liberal voice can fireproof himself against such a charge is to play the Vietnam vet card. As Kerry says, in order to be heard about the rollcall of domestic issues that concern ordinary Americans, any Democratic presidential candidate has to get past the security issue; being a decorated Vietnam vet offers Kerry the passport.

So now for one safe-ish forecast and one risky prediction, which I wish I had written last May when I first met the Kerry camp. Kerry is going to win the nomination to be the Democrat presidential candidate and I think he will go on to beat George Bush. American democracy may have its grievous defects - the role of money, the grotesquely gerrymandered congressional districts, the low turnouts and all the rest - but it still retains a core functionality.

Bush led his country into an illegitimate war for trumped-up reasons; the consequent morass is already costing more than $100 billion, many American lives and profoundly compromising US and Western interests. In a democracy, you pay for such fundamental misjudgments with your job and Bush will pay with his.

(snip)

Bush will certainly narrow the gap with a blitz of what will be some of the nastiest political advertising yet sanctioned in the US, but I still think this is an election the Democrats can win.

Which is where Kerry's experience in Vietnam is so vital; he can argue for the importance of legitimacy in fighting wars, of being on the right side of the moral argument and of the need for genuine international coalitions without being cast as another draft-dodging liberal; indeed, he can hurl back that charge with interest.

(snip)

...Blair is a liability to the progressive tradition on both sides of the Atlantic ... a damning indictment. If the Democrats want him to be silent, then silent he'd better be. We want Kerry as President, too. (end of article)

[POed_Ex_Repub]

1. The world doesn't like Bush

I think last time I heard only 15% of Canadians would vote for shrub. The rest of the world are standing by with baited breath hoping that we Americans (United Statesians? Isn't America a hemisphere?) make the correct decision. Most of them don't understand how we've gone this long without impeaching the pResident.

[NV1962]

2. Point of order!

Thanks for highlighting the rather exaggerated term "Americans" in exclusive reference to citizens that are a minority of those that populate the continents, and live in a country that doesn't represent most of the territory either.

Unfortunately the use of "hemisphere" is even worse - that refers to one half of the globe.

Interesting that you mention United Statesians - that's literally what's in use in Spain (estadounidenses)

Anyway... Carry on!

Uh, yeah - a fraction of people have overall sympathy for Bush's job performance, across Europe. An aggravating factor for such a hypothetical vote is that over there, voters actually turnout to vote in general elections.

Anyway, before this degenerates into silly bashing, let's hit on a positive and fairly balanced parting note: I like the European taste for crunchy chocolate chip cookies better but then again the absurdly thick milkshakes here in the US are... Terrible.

:crazy:

[blm]

3. interesting take

and I agree to noone's surprise.

[cryofan]

4. Fantastic Analysis of American Politics

Some snippets from the Guardian article:
"profound dominance of conservatism on the American national consensus"
>>>>>>>

Yes! We are going more and more right, while Europe goes more and more back to the left.


Also:

"American democracy may have its grievous defects - the role of money, the grotesquely gerrymandered congressional districts, the low turnouts and all the rest - but it still retains a core functionality. "


I cannot believe how we just let this gerrymandering slip by.

Also:
"To British eyes, the quality of speech-making and capacity to stir emotions in the state primaries, where the rival candidates pitch for voting support in August's convention, has been eye-opening. "

I agree. Edwards, Kerry and Dean are REALLY "playing the game of their life" this campaign. THey are really playing their hearts out. I sometimes wish we could give the nomination to all three. And although Clark is not as good as this game as they are, he also deserves the nomination.

Also:
"John Edward's invocation of two Americas and advocacy of an effective social contract for every American is high octane and passionate. But both Howard Dean and John Kerry, with his call for a 'Real Deal', are not far behind. They have found a language to talk social-contract politics, even if they never mention the term; they indict the corruptions of American capitalism; they celebrate the capacity of public action to offer remedies."

And just WHY are they NOT mentioning the Social Contract? This is a concept fundamental to all democratic societies. Why is this concept openly talked about in NW Europe, but not here?

[spooky3]

5. That first sentence is very insightful. I think it accounts for why

many people are voting as they are.