OBAMA

AOG, Madrid

Last night I was talking to my mother in London on the phone. We discussed the election in the US and we both hoped Obama would win. We talked about the long road to the White House and all sorts of realpolitik topics, like will the US really vote for a black candidate? And also the fact that Mr. Obama lost his Grandmother the day before voting started. My mother, a true romantic at heart, said nonchalantly that “Well, now she can help him win from Heaven”.

This afternoon I walked into my office to find my colleagues excited about the night’s events. I work for a Financial paper in Madrid. My co-workers are Spanish.

“His speech was like something from a movie!”, said one.

“I loved how McCain spoke about supporting the new President”, said another.

“That would never happen here”, said a third.

I looked at her and said that it was up to us to make sure something like that did happen here.

All three looked bemusedly at me and retorted that that would never happen in Spain.

“We don’t have that kind of politician” was the general summary.

I was saddened that my co-workers, many in their late 20s or early 30s, think that they deserve, or should put up with endlessly, with bad politicians.

But then I was raised in the US, not Spain, and I was instilled with the knowledge that if you want change, you make change. Unfortunately I think most Europeans wait for change to arrive at their doorstep.

No, I don’t think the American way is better, or that the European way is worse. They are merely different and have a plus side and a minus side.

Over the course of the afternoon my sister and I emailed each other after celebrating Mr. Obama's victory on Facebook. We were happy that the Bush era is well and truly over.

I spoke with my mother this morning. She was elated. We both were. Then reality struck our conversation.

“We must hope they don’t shoot him”, she said. I had to acquiesce. This is what the Guardian has to say about it.

They said the exact same thing at work.

Sarah Palin

AOG, Madrid

In the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans this coming November, both the Republicans and the Democrats are keen on finding the best candidate. It's always said that the most important decision a presidential candidate makes is their pick for Vice President. It shows their thinking and judgment.

This 2008, events in the Caucus region between Russia and Georgia have, according to some, pushed/forced/cleared up the way for Obama’s choice as a running mate in the form of Joe Biden, a man earmarked for his expertise in foreign affairs, something which the general media in the US is adamant Mr. Obama lacks. Biden, a Delaware senator, is known as a skilled and tactful debater, and is a foreign policy expert, chairing the Senate foreign relations committee.

On the other side of the spectrum, for reasons known only to himself, McCain has chosen Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, to be his running mate. She is the first woman to do so under a Republican ticket. So that, and only that, is good news.

The rest is just abysmal, to say the least.

Flip flops over the Ketchikan bridge aside (also known as the Bridge to Nowhere), Ms. Palin is there, I would venture, to appease the party’s right, as well as its extreme right, wings.

Senator John Kerry, presidential candidate in 2004 also thinks this is the case since, according to him, the party is “suspicious” of McCain.

As if that were not bad enough, according to Senator Kerry, "He's chosen somebody who doesn't believe climate change is man-made", as he declared on ABC news.

She also does not believe in abortion, something which will make the McCain camp loose more votes, especially amongst women, but supports expanded drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. According to Wikipedia's much discussed and amended entry for her, she is said to support teaching creationism, alongside sicence.

This is what I find scariest. Whilst the rest of the worl forges forward in scientic research, blowing away the clouds of religion, the potential Vice President of the US believes in Creationism. It is one thing to be an Evangelical Christian, but to believe in Creationsim is just too much for me. But there's more.

Rush Limbaugh, whose radio show attracts millions of rightwing listeners, has enthusiastically welcomed the Governor of Alaska.

"Palin equals guns, babies, Jesus ... Obama just lost blue-collar, white Democratic voters in Pennsylvania and other states," Limbaugh said.

James Dobson, the conservative Christian leader who had been opposed to McCain, said the selection of Palin had won him over.

Amazingly, and catastrophically for the Republicans, by bringing in someone with very little experience, they have, ironically, washed over their main quip at Obama- lack of experience.

When it comes to experience, compared with Ms. Palin, Mr. Obama looks like Winston Churchill.

The Daily News-Miner, an Alaskan paper, wrote in an editorial: “Republicans rightfully have criticised the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, for his lack of experience but Palin is a neophyte in comparison. Palin is not ready for the top job. It’s clear that McCain picked Palin for reasons of image, not substance.”

A good omen?

After appearing with McCain at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, last Friday, Palin made her second campaign speech on Saturday near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Her stop there showed a vulnerability that could be a worry for McCain: some of the audience left as she was speaking and there was booing when, in an appeal to Democratic voters to switch to McCain, she mentioned Hillary Clinton, something Senator Kerry said was insulting to Hillary Clinton supporters, given her anti-abortion and other socially conservative views.

Palin, 44, is Alaska's first female governor. She was sworn in December 2006, making her one of the least experienced people to run for vice-president in recent memory - she has been governor for just a bit over 18 months. Alaska is one of the smallest states in the US, with only 670,000 residents; this would only make it the 17th most populous city in the United States. Just ahead of Fort Worth. Before becoming governor, Palin served two terms as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 9,800 people, and was on the city's council before that.

Do you know what the first two "powers and duties" are for the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Check their municipal code:

1. Preside at council meetings. The mayor may take part in the discussion of matters before the council, but may not vote, except that the mayor may vote in the case of a tie;

2. Act as ceremonial head of the city;

In the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial race, Palin bested the incumbent Republican governor during the primary election. As for foreign policy experience, she has none, but she was runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant.

Nonetheless the final outcome in November will give the US one of two new paradigms, either a Black President, or a Woman Vice President for the first time ever.

Given McCain’s advanced age- he just turned 72-, and his not ironclad health, it may even give America its first-ever woman President. But for all the wrong reasons, of course.

Hillary Clinton as Ceasar's wife...

AOG, Madrid

I remember listening in a radio interview in Spain a couple of years ago a quote which I agreed with wholeheartedly. Although in Spanish, it went along these lines:

"Ceasar's wife must not only be his wife, she also has to look like she is his wife"

The quote was a reference to a scandal which happened to Ceasar's second wife, Pompeia, whereby she was accused of doing something which brought great shame to Ceasar: a scandal that occurred during the rites of Bona Dea.

Although, as it turned out, she was innocent, nevertheless, the whole episode was used as ammunition to deliver a divorce veredict. It is from that court case that in the English-speaking world we say "Ceasar's wife must be above suspicion".

Caesar divorced Pompeia and an inquiry was held. Although several members of Caesar's family gave evidence, Caesar himself did not and the court asked him why he had demanded a divorce when so much uncertainty surrounded the incident. "Caesar's wife," he replied, "must be above suspicion."

I mention this because I have been paying a bit more attention to the Democratic primaries in the US. And in particular to Hillary Clinton.

On paper, she is a super candidate. She has (or claims to have), great experience. She certainly is intelligent and she has some good ideas to help the country.

But then, I look at her. How she speaks. How she moves. Her appearance. And then I don't buy it. Especially when compared to the package Mr. Obama sells.

When I listen to them debate, I often think I am witnessing a debate between a PTA Mom and a politician. Silly. Untrue. Unfounded, because they are both great candidates.

But...

Ms. Clinton does not look the part. She does not look like the President of the US. He does. And so does McCain.

Am I the only one who thinks this? Surely not.

May the best person win, of course, but this will not be the case. The best person will not win. The person who most looks like the President of the US will win. Like Reagan did. Like Bush Sr. did. Like Gore did- although we all know what happened there. Like Bush did the second time around.

I am not for a second suggesting Ms. Clinton is not a great candidate. She is. And I would vote for her over McCain any day. But I would have trouble picturing her in the White House sitting as Madam President.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

Obama, despite Tuesday's 10-point defeat, appears all but certain to finish the primary season with more popular votes and more pledged delegates than Clinton.

And then, there's this: