Roger Cohen entirely misses the point
he's writing about the interest the rest of the world is taking in the 2008 election...
did it ever occur to mr. cohen that all those non-u.s. people who are taking an interest in the u.s. election campaign desperately WANT the u.s. to be those things he talks about, every bit as much as u.s. citizens do, every bit as much as i do...? the u.s. represents a promise to the world, a promise on which we have reneged, but, just like me, there are lots of people who want it back, and are turning a keen eye to the u.s. to see what is going to happen... these people are AFRAID, mr. cohen... they've seen what's taken place in the last seven-plus years, and they're AFRAID...
when i went to the dentist here in buenos aires yesterday, we had no more than introduced ourselves when he asked me if i supported hillary or obama... this from a man whose parents migrated to argentina from croatia after wwII to escape socialism under tito... why does he care...? because he KNOWS that, unfortunately enough, so goes the u.s., so goes the rest of the world... for myself, i'd much prefer that we gain our credibility back, and nothing would do that faster or better than for the bush administration to be tossed out before the end of its term...
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There will certainly be new military and financial constraints on the next president after the incompetence and profligacy of the Bush years. But those years have also shown how little of significance happens without American leadership. That’s as true of Israel-Palestine as of the environment or Kosovo.
As this election campaign is demonstrating, the United States remains the most vital, open, self-renewing and democratic society on earth. In December 2007, there were 1,059,793 naturalization applications pending: one million people are not clamoring to join a nation in eclipse.
[...]
Far from paradoxical, the global fascination with this election is in fact logical. For where America leads, with post-Bush dexterity and purpose, the world will still follow.
did it ever occur to mr. cohen that all those non-u.s. people who are taking an interest in the u.s. election campaign desperately WANT the u.s. to be those things he talks about, every bit as much as u.s. citizens do, every bit as much as i do...? the u.s. represents a promise to the world, a promise on which we have reneged, but, just like me, there are lots of people who want it back, and are turning a keen eye to the u.s. to see what is going to happen... these people are AFRAID, mr. cohen... they've seen what's taken place in the last seven-plus years, and they're AFRAID...
when i went to the dentist here in buenos aires yesterday, we had no more than introduced ourselves when he asked me if i supported hillary or obama... this from a man whose parents migrated to argentina from croatia after wwII to escape socialism under tito... why does he care...? because he KNOWS that, unfortunately enough, so goes the u.s., so goes the rest of the world... for myself, i'd much prefer that we gain our credibility back, and nothing would do that faster or better than for the bush administration to be tossed out before the end of its term...
Labels: 2008 candidates, 2008 Election, Argentina, Barack Obama, Buenos Aires, Bush Administration, George Bush, Hillary Clinton
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posted by profmarcus at
1/31/2008
