It’s that time of year again!
Here’s a recent article from the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Facty that examines the question of what would happen of Santa Claus was elected U.S. president. And why would a Russian newspaper examine such a thing? According to the article:
“The United States has a new presidential candidate: His name is Santa Claus. More precisely, he is a man who, on the advice of family and friends due to his likeness to the mythical character, took the name ‘Santa.’ The gray-bearded resident of West Virginia previously known as Thomas O’Connor, recently registered himself as a candidate for the position of head of state.”
The newspaper then goes on to ask a number of Russian media personalities what would happen if “Santa” won. For example, writer Dmitriy Bikov says in part:
“Of course, the election of Santa Claus would be plagiarism. We [Russians] have long had the idea of building a residence for Grandpa Frost, making him an active political entity in the Great Ustyug, in Moscow. We have even arranged an entire welcoming committee for his arrival, as I recall writing at some point … This is a Russian idea. And of course, Grandpa Frost would be much more natural in the role of Russian president.”
Translated By Yekaterina Blinova
September 26, 2008
Russia – Argumenty i Facty – Original Article (Russian)
The United States has a new presidential candidate: His name is Santa Claus. More precisely, he is a man who, on the advice of family and friends due to his likeness to the mythical character, took the name “Santa.” The gray-bearded resident of West Virginia previously known as Thomas O’Connor, recently registered himself as a candidate for the position of head of state.
The fact is that the laws in force in West Virginia, allow virtually any citizen to participate in the presidential race: you need only provide a list of required documents to the office of secretary of state. Jason Williams, the manager of the elections division in the secretary of state’s office, noted that prospective candidates need only fill out the appropriate form at least 42 days before the election.
Therefore, this rookie Santa Claus will now be a genuine candidate in the presidential election, which will take place on November 4th of this year, along with John McCain and Barack Obama.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated and English foreign press coverage of the U.S. election.
Founder and Managing Editor of Worldmeets.US