Whatever the blemishes of the United States – it’s democracy is alive and kicking. Such is the verdict of Daniel Vernet of the French newspaper Le Monde.
“Out of the interminable campaign of primaries has emerged an undeniable surge of American democracy. To find a successor to the most unpopular president since polling began, Americans are mobilizing more than since after the election of John Kennedy in 1960. … Of course there are dirty tricks, negative ads on television, catch-phrases distilled by the candidates’ entourages and the massive machinery of the parties, all of which sheds a less-than-idyllic light on the election. But the fact remains that this year, three atypical and in many ways unexpected candidates have emerged: on the Republican side, a veteran of the Vietnam War who already tried his luck in 2000 and was not the choice of the establishment; on the Democratic side, a woman who certainly considered herself the “inevitable” candidate but who herself sliced into the ambient machismo; and an African American whose chances are not negligible.”
“Beware! Don’t tell the Americans that Europe’s voting for Obama – it could cost him his victory.”
By Daniel Vernet
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
May 27, 2008
France – Le Monde – Original Article (French)
Out of the interminable campaign of primaries has emerged an undeniable surge of American democracy. To find a successor to the most unpopular president since polling began, Americans are mobilizing more than since after the election of John Kennedy in 1960.
It is especially true of young people and ethnic minorities, particularly Blacks, who traditionally have very high rates of abstention. This year they have registered to vote en mass. In the primaries they have often made the difference in favor of Barack Obama, but they have also made a difference in actual elections. In mid-May in Missouri, in a constituency that had been firmly-held by Republicans, the mobilization of Blacks led to the victory of a Democrat.
They [Republicans] won’t be reluctant to use the race factor – with various degrees of discretion – to block the path of the first African American with a serious claim on the White House. Without many scruples, the Clinton camp has done so as well. It’s difficult to determine the impact of the maneuver. In the opinion polls, it’s not “politically correct” to declare that one would never vote for a Black. The component of “racism” is doubtless under-estimated, as was previously true in France with voters of the National Front [France’s extreme right-wing party ].
However, Barack Obama won his first battle in the Iowa Caucus, a state with a 95 percent White population. Among Whites, voting for Obama’s was greatly facilitated by a lack of Blacks in the region; the issue only became a problem when the population was of mixed race.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. election and the fallout over Scott McClellan’s new book.
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