Obama '08

Most people I talk to are fascinated by the American Elections which are just around the corner. That's most people except my wife, she thinks that Barack Obama takes way too much of my time. Admittedly, I've been actively following the primaries and then the general election campaign on a nearly hourly basis to an extent that I'm addicted to it. What can I say, I guess I'm a closet soap opera fanatic.

You have to admit though the Americans are like the neighbours who live next door, in a big fancy house made of glass. You can look into their home pretty much anytime you want and find out what exactly was going on in there. This is probably the reason why most of us around the world follow them culturally.

Given that they've lived in a glass house all this while where the world can see what they do everyday, they have grown oblivious of this fact in itself. I'm not sure if most Americans know the keen interest that people around the world show in their politics. Some of us mask our interest by touting that what happens in the USA affects the rest of the world (to a limited extent it might) but the reality is that we like looking into our neighbours house.

I think the world made it's choice in the elections quite early. From Europe to Asia to South America the clear choice seems to be Barack Obama. I wonder if this kind of an attention is really good for international relations, lets say if McCain was to win the elections.

I guess most people around the world know what a joke Sarah Palin has been over the last month or so, but the reality is that she has a chance of the Vice President and maybe even the President of the United States. I don't know about you but if I were ever a world leader and I was negotiating a deal with her, I wouldn't take her at her words (or her winks). But she could still potentially have the most powerful job in the world. I'm guessing here but I don't think the Republicans on the whole have a lot of fans around the world. On a positive note though I think an Obama Presidency would give mend the American image around the world to a large extent and that is possible because of the international attention he has got so far.

The Presidential elections with its 2 year long cycle (and a rich and often confusing tradition) really doesn't consider the fact that in the modern world, while the American people go through the happy job of vetting their potential leaders, world is also doing the same. And that necessarily need not be the best thing for a new leader or a new administration.

But what the heck, nothing beats the buzz of the election drama (The latest Gallup Poll has Obama up by 9 points!!).