10 days ago I posted a Poll regarding the US elections, the target of the audience was for Non Americans and what they think of the elections and who would they vote for if they had that choice, here are the outcomes:
There were 35 participants
66% said they will vote for Obama (Democratic Party)
17% said they will vote for McCain (Republican Party)
17% said they will vote for another Party if there was one in America
1% only showed no interest in the US elections
From these numbers, you get the feeling that most non-Americans have had it with Bush and the Republican Party and want to vote for Obama. The reasons behind this is not clear in this Poll as some might support Obama for his color, ethnicity or because they believe he can change America.
Some would vote for McCain but they seem to be a less percentage (49% difference). They might have their own reasons for that which the Poll didn’t show. A different group but with the same percentage are also interested in having multi parties in the USA, why have this monopoly of two parties only, many countries in Europe have more than 3 and four parties.
Only 1% didn’t care about the elections in the US, which is a clear message that most people around the world are very much interested in what is happening in America and this includes the Middle East. Any change in America will have an impact on the world, wither it was economically, politically or socially but the reasons behind that are not clear in this Poll. But since America is a Super Power, most countries economies depend on the value of the US Dollar, and in conflict regions like the Middle East where there are more than 300,000 US soldiers based in the Iraq and the Gulf, the Politics of the US play a major role in our lives. Here in the Middle East we are having our fingers crossed and looking forward for a more serious and important US role in Peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a long lasting Peace that is JUST and FAIR.
The Polls in the USA will close after (1 day, and 15 hours, and 45 minutes) when this post was published.
Note: Margin of error (-,+3%)
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19 comments:
I was attempting to understand politics by reading on both, to me it looks like Obama is the "better person" in this dirty game, but by better I mean the lesser of two evils.
But then again politicians have as many faces as dice so I won't be surprised if things turn out worse than the Bush administration
no Kinan, democrats are stil considered liberals in America and even if they are the best of the worse, they can never be as ignorant and evil as Bush and his administration.
Ali, i hope what you're saying is true, but we won't know until he's elected. Obama once said "Nobody's suffering more than the Palestinian people". But, now with the high pressure from the pro-israeli lobby in the US, he is turning very zionist. I guess we're going to have to wait and see.
We are about to say goodbye to the worst president this nation has ever had.
The Republicans have scared many Jews into thinking that Obama will withdraw support for Israel. What he may do is not take the stance of the Likud party which is not really turning your back on Israel, just taking a new approach. Likud is the equivalent, in my opinion, of the Republican party. Pro war, tunnel visioned and everything is expendable when it comes to pushing their agenda. Let us keep in mind that all of Israel is Likud and not all Jews in America think the Likud philosophy is a good one.
That being said, Obama must prove to American Jews that he will not let Israel be destroyed nor will he promote policies that will make life harder for Palestinians. This is a very difficult line to walk but much better than Bush. Obama is not an ignorant man and understands the complex nature of this issue.
I'm at work, doing a million things, but I always like to read your blog. Honestly, I cannot imagine why anyone outside the US would want McCain, unless they had some connection to furthering the Iraqi War, keeping oil prices inflated, making sure that there is no dialog between Israel and the Palestinians, enjoying some financial connection to all I've named above---I hope someone can explain that to me.
I've been called a liberal, leftist, commie, anti freedom so much that it makes me laugh as those who use those terms don't even know what they mean. They parrot Rush Limbaugh or whatever rich neo-con mouthpiece is scaring the American public into submission.
I'm watching the election and after tomorrow, I will write a post that attempts objectivity.
I will just say this about the candidates' rhetoric on Israel: I wouldn't trust either one--McCain wants to win and then do what he wants. Obama, I think, does understand the complexity of the situation and in his heart is a better friend to the Palestinians, but he won't do much to upset the American/Israeli alliance unless something very big happens: I'm not sure what that could be, but if Israel repeats the situation in Lebanon, I don't see Obama behaving like previous Republicans.
McCain will either use Israel as a pitbull against Syria and/or Iran, or he may tell Likud to cool their jets--he is a very unpredicable candidate. He wants the presidiency so badly that he will use it to right the world as he sees fit. This is a man who will not have a second term and secretly hates his party. I honestly wouldn't know what to expect from either candidate when it comes to the Mideast, except that McCain will not help the peace process anywhere. Obama is under tremendous pressure to say and do what people want, and I highly doubt he will do anything to interfere with Israel. My hope for him is that he will not show blind support as Bush did, as that helped no one.
We will wait and see what Obama will do if he wons. Hope he will not disappoint you.
Ali, Do you think that Obama will be moderate and will be on our side? i don't think so ...
In my opinion kullun adrab min ba3ad.
Enemy and Ali the best side to be on is the side of keeping a level head. We have not had that over the last 8 years and the result was that brief but awful war that went into Lebenon. That was a disaster and I strongly support Israels right to defend itself. But I have no idea what all of that was and I don't think others do either.
A return to the pre 1967 borders will help and putting an end to Israeli settlements would go even further in easing things. I can see Obama maybe going down that road.
I have no clue what you would get with McCain. Like Enemy I think he could go either way. The problem is he will align himself with Likud more than Obama would and those guys love a fight.
Whoever wins must call it down the middle if they want to move this troubled land toward peace. The Palestinians and Israelis won't be happy with everything but there must be compromises on BOTH sides for peace to work.
EOR, I do agree with you regarding McCain and Obama's statrtegy towards the Middle east, McCain will follow the footsteops of all Republicans, I saw a couple of interviews for McCain and man he was so pro ISRAELI and very anti Arab, and he used the same Bush language (Terrorists, Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria, Iran). As for Obama, you are correct, he might have some compassion for the Palestinians but would never upset AIPAC and Israel. But Democrats tend to lean towards pushing for the peace process and most probably getthing themleves out of the Iraqi swamp!
Mona, see EOR and my reply
Ricardo, you know Peace is so easy to implement, give back the people's their land, their homes and right of return, freedom of movement, eductaion, healthcare and people would stop killing each other. Now I realy doubt ISRAEL and Hamas will compromise. It's a long road but tehe least we can do is open a dialougue
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Great news!
Obama: Jerusalem Will Be Israel's Capital
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No argument--Ricardo--this is one reason I like discussing these matters with you--all countries have the right to defend themselves--it is a given for any nation-state.
When I used the word Lebanon, I also was thinking about the 80s. I will reserve comment as I began rereading about it last night. The Hezbollah conflict was very strange, and Bush seized upon to push his own agenda, as usual. But Hezbollah didn't come out of nowhere--correct me if I'm wrong, but the CIA did kill one of their leaders. And the fact that they are Shia sure put Al-Queda in an awkward position. I don't doubt Iran funded them, but it isn't clear to me if they acted on Iran's orders. That was a scary time; it was one of the few times I watched the news deliberately, as my husband and I feared this would become another reason for a war sponsered by the US.
This is where America drives me crazy. We fund so many governments that are rogue--Israel is not one of them, but Likud will not advance peace, and we were their best friend over the past 8 years. We helped the Taliban come to power after the Soviet mess, then turn around and invade Afghanistan, fully knowing that the Taliban were also funded by Osama Bin Laden--why didnt' we do anything to prevent that association? Do you see where I am going with this? It isn't just Bush; it is America's foreign policy which is shockingly ignorant--when Bush Sr. was in office, someone asked him about the continuing conflict in Afghanistan--what is the American position and he replied: Oh, is that still going on? Unlike Anonymous, I don't get my information from You-Tube, but a variety of books and documents.
Anyway, that is a different topic.
Gibran72, thanks for the feedback, I'm not sure if having two parties is a good thing or not, what we have in Jordan in terms of elections is a joke by all means. But I hear from many Americans who would like to vote for an independent candidate like Raplh Nader, but that party is so weak.
EOR, do you know why people in the Middle East do not like the US Government (not the people)? because of US official double standards towards Israel.
Ali I am not at all opposed to a Palestinian State nor am I opposed to them having the rights and freedoms that I take for granted here. I fully understand that there are plenty of people in the PA that just want to live a normal life and don’t want to hurt anyone. I want these people to live and prosper and I don’t want to see Palestinians as people I should fear or hate. They are people. And the people in both Israel and the PA have the right to exist without being “pushed into the sea” as some would say. Hamas is another story and they purport themselves as being the majority among Palestinians. If this is so then you can understand the reluctance of the US and the West to have this double standard? People are not going to be enthusiastic about helping a group that has a “charter” that declares: Life sucks, kill all the Jews. This simply won’t do. This is why Israel is so quick to throw up walls and bulldoze homes. The perception among many (fair or not) is that hate, Hamas and terrorism = the Palestinian people. There is no separation or distinction especially when they see footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets after 9/11. Couple that with the “operations” carried out at Israeli shopping centers and so on and you see that the cycle. The more Hamas forces their hand the more the Palestinian people as a whole will suffer. The West will feel well justified in punishing them. The more the west comes down on them the more they will attack. The downward spiral goes on forever with neither side really winning or holding any firm advantage.
Any dialog is good dialog. Part of the dialog must acknowledge one simple thing, the Israelis are not going away, the Palestinians are not going away and that just has to be accepted in order to move on.
Ali, I am aware of that. I hesitate to say all that I think in the fear that it will be misunderstood by those whose opinion I respect. Many people in the States simply don't believe Palestinians are mistreated in Israel. They equate Palestinians with terrorism. They are not people. There is no occupation. Anything said to the contrary is a lie, it is unAmerican, anti-semitic and siding with the enemy. Only the Sith deals in absolutes.
When I say rogue government, I mean those that exploit and terrorize their citizens. We sided with Iraq when they fought Iran; we allowed the Taliban to grow, knowing that Osama Bin Laden was funding them and we too contributed, we supported Pinochet in a military coup and murdered Allende in Chile, a democratically elected president. In all fairness, I don't see Israel as such a government--if so, Rabin could not have accomplished what he did, nor could there have been a treaty with Egypt. But it is naive to say Israel is always right and everyone who disagrees with all of its actions is wrong. That is simply unreasonable.
I believe that there are people within Israel who squirm at the control the US has over Israeli policy and would like to see a change. I would not want to constantly see my government getting the green light from another in foreign or domestic policy. From what I understand, the US began to take that role in the 60s-correct me if I am wrong.
I do agree with Ricardo: neither Israel nor the Palestinians are going away.In fact, that is shockingly simple. The fact that it must be said makes me think of LOTR in which the Ents took ages just to decide that Merry and Pippin were not Orcs. If negociations are still at that fundamental level, there is a long road ahead.
I'd just like to add a little twist to this interesting discussion.
Jewish Americans who vote Republican have been totally taken in. The extreme right in the US is pro-Israel only because they want to hasten the "Rapture" (aka the end of the world, Armageddon). By supporting the most hawkish elements of Israeli society, they seek to create a war which will kill the whole world. At that point, evangelist Christians (and ONLY evangelist Christians) will rise up to heaven and be saved from the conflagration. What will happen to all the Jews who supported McCain and Palin? Why, they'll go to hell just like everyone else!
Blindly supporting Israel (and I say this as a Jew who does not want the State of Israel to be dissolved) is a dangerous game for all, including Israeli Jews.
Hard as it may be to walk the fine line, I still believe in dialogue.
Ali, buy WRG a beer, the observations are dead on.
WRG, you said it all
Why thank you, kind sirs. Though could I ask for a nice glass of red wine instead, and give the beer to my husband?
WRG, how about you try some red wine from the Holy Land, come here and will give you a nice bottle
Amman isn't the Holy Land, habibi.
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