Still Hoping? Let's Hope So!

They all shouted

Yes We Can

Then started whispering

Yes He can.

 

Last night, Andrew Marr was able to successfully do what Channel 4's previous election build up 'The American Road Trip' really failed to do. That being, dig a little deeper into the 2008 Obama appeal, his apparent fall from grace and both his shortcomings and benefits as a politician. A balanced program that explained quite simply Obamacare, raising eyebrows at those who so violently opposed it - what a shame Marr wasn't on hand to help the Obama administration when the bill was being passed. You can find it here - unless you are overseas in which case I have no idea how these things work, sorry! hope you can get a hold of it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01ntgsm/This_World_Obama_What_Happened_to_Hope/

 

The above quote was from a Chicago man who articulated really well a nagging thought of mine. It was "Yes WE can" to that whole change thing, right? It has always felt to me, that a nation stood with Obama and then suddenly dropped back behind him, whispering "Yes YOU can." Or maybe it was always more a question of what kind of change, what kind of hope. Change that costs? Change that might benefit someone else before me? Hope that drags you out of your comfort zone... hmm well then maybe not that kind of hope or that kind of change.

 

So its a tight race and tomorrow it will be about lawyers and counting machines. But is that any surprise? When Obama took office, the economy was in the worst shape it has probably ever been and Obama was still getting lost in the halls of the White House. I remember watching the inaugaration and listening mesmerised by the wonder of an actual orator, such a gifted public speaker and graceful leader and my heart sank. It was the wrong time. How could this be Obama's moment? No one would survive such a hideous recession. Btw this is the small comfort I take that Cameron, a man also destined to lead but for very different reasons, is in power now.

 

Yet, here he is still standing and I belive still hoping for change. Marr wanted to know if people have lost faith in him, especially those from his campaigning grassroots in Chicago. From the program it didn't seem like that had, but perhaps they feel there is little choice but to trust him knowing the opposition will have even deafer ears. I'm sure he must feel pretty far away from those campaigners and protestors, perhaps lonely in his West Wing office but I've no doubt he hasn't forgotten. For all that he hasn't managed to live up to the weighty expectations Obama does not strike me as a man whose identity is lost or his political compass broken. This is important because if you had read, watched or listened beyond the smile I think Obama's agenda has always been clear. I don't necessarily mean agenda in a negative way, simply to say that Obama's core is not as a centrist and those that voted for him made the mistake not Obama.

 

So my question is; Why elect Obama in the first place? When people feel lost, when all that they know is crumbling - as the capitalist banking system was in 2008, they need a Captain to sail their raft in the right direction. So the message of Hope was a popular one. I think what a lot of people misunderstood was the small print in Obama's message. For one thing Obama is not a 'socialist' in the sense so many Americans fling around, he would not be recognised in the USSR or communist China. So please read alittle, learn alittle before hurling back to the McCarthy days. But neither was the Change to only benefit those who were previously benefiting from the free market, and all its consumerism trappings.

 

Reading over this it strikes me that I sound pretty harsh against a nation that have over the last decade been shaken extremenly hard. I don't mean to attack or dismiss that real poverty and hardship many have faced. What I mean to say is that I believe that there is room within the American dream and the Obama administration for a USA that is more united than it is presently divided. I don't think the Hope agenda was ever about handouts without a hand up. Obama isn't against business, or religion or your civil rights. Isn't there room for health insurance for everyone? Can't you run your business successfully, even be 'rich' whilst not crippling your neighbour? I would love to see a second term, from a political scientist point of view this is a fascinating time and the possibilities for real change and policies that might take root are much more open in a second term than a first.

 

I'm sure Romney is a very successful businessman and for many is the option that makes sense, that is safe for them that feels you know, comfortable but please America be brave once more. Don't let this great mind and gifted man go down as a one term President.

 

Hey, if you disagree please tell me why or if you have predictions about tomorrow do share!

 

 

The Religious Vote

"Let people see our religious consistency on the issues, not our political hypocrisy at election time, by assigning ultimate biblical values to our different political choices."

Jim Wallis, Consistency, hypocrisy and the US presidential election, 2 Nov 2012.

 

I have been reflecting the last few days on what it means to have a religious viewpoint in Politics and of course specifically how Christians will be voting tomorrow. I have seen 2 'posters' being passed around on Facebook, both from Christian leaders but holding very different political positions. It's hard to not feel your religious values are being manipulated by those with the most to gain. I wanted to see what Jim Wallis, a respected Christian leader and political commentator had to say and after a quick google search found the article above. It is a good read and worth 5 minutes of your time - obviously after reading this!

Wallis says: "Many of us Christians are 'pro-life', but aren’t the nearly 20,000 children around the world who die every day of utterly preventable hunger and disease just as much a 'sanctity-of-life' issue as the approximately 3,000 abortions that occurred in our country today?" A sentiment that was the basis of one of those facebook posters. That being pro-life is surely not just a question of abortion and contraception, that is only birth. However, for many these are important issues and act as a compass for their value system. I can understand this, just like I can 'understand' their concerns over marriage etc (understand although perhaps not agree with). What Wallis is getting at though is that Jesus was about more than these 'moral/religious' issues that are so heavily played on in election season. He was about social justice, mercy and love for the poor, oppressed and lonely and he was also fervently concerned with these things 24/7, 360 days of the year. Does your faith determine your political ideology or vice versa? And which one if either motivates your daily living, your daily politics, your daily faith?

 

Wallis goes on to talk about Romney's following of the Mormon faith - something which has become a bit of an elephant in the room. I'm really glad he is willing to write about it and sensitively question whether there would have been such a theological shift (he uses the example of republican members and religious leaders removing negative stories and articles about Mormons from their websites etc) if the person concerned had been a Democrat. "Are our concerns really about religion and biblical values, or do they just reflect our ideological political preferences?"

 

I have been surprised that so many American Evangelicals have been willing to accept Romney's faith and that it hasn't been more of an issue in the campaign. In many ways a candidate's faith should not be a voting factor, what matters is how this faith affects their values and in turn their policy decisions. I wonder had Barack Obama, often labelled as a Muslim as well as that weird scandal about his previous minister, actually been a Muslim would he ever have been elected in the first place? Probably not, yet seemingly people can more closely identify with the values of a Mormon. I struggle with this and wonder to what extent Romney remains close to his Mormon traditions. Perhaps it would have little affect on his moral compass and Presidential style. In which case how was he chosen by the 'God is on our side' team?

 

Anyway before I get too controversial I will leave it with this: Wallis' article is about the too often witnessed hypocisy of the Christian Church, only emphasised during big elections. Whichever way you vote tomorrow or perhaps already have, or the way you wish you could, please be consistent with a worldview that stretches across all the issues and all areas of your life; privately, publicly and in those still moments alone with God lets all do our best to live truthfully. You can get that article here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17284

 

In the News

Will Hurricane Sandy Save Obama?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/10/31/wapo-abc-tracking-poll-high-marks-for-president-obama-on-hurricane-sandy-response/

 

Nearly eight in 10 likely voters say the president has done an “excellent” or “good” job dealing with what’s been labeled a “super storm.” Almost as many give positive reviews to the federal government’s response generally. Even two-thirds of those who support Republican Mitt Romney in next week’s presidential election say Obama is doing well in this area.
It is the unknown variables that can make elections and predicting their outcomes so unpredictable. Obama has returned to the campaign trial after things came to halt with the devastating affects of Hurricane Sandy. In these circumstances the current Commander-in-Chief always has more opportunity to gain or lose (think Bush with Catriona) standing in the public eye. This week Obama has responded quickly, and has been applauded for his "outstanding" handling of the situation from some unlikely sources - New Jersey Governer and Romney supporter Chris Christie (yes thats his name?!). It has also meant all eyes on essential public services leaving Romney vulnerable after his comments on possible privitising FEMA (for another blogs comments on this)
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/the_rumble/2012/10/romney-cant-run-from-his-comments-on-fema

It is also worth considering how the destruction will affect voter turnout, as polling stations are flooded and voting may be the last thing on the minds of those struggling to come to terms with Sandy. Personally I think the President's caring, serious response can only go in his favour, but who stands to benefit or lose out from low voting turnout in those damaged neighbourhoods is much harder to judge.
O Canada!

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/31/obama-romney-canada-poll_n_2049167.html

A new poll from Angus Reid has found Canadians prefer Barack Obama to Mitt Romney by a seven to one margin. (AP/ALAMY/GETTY IMAGES)

A new poll has found Canadians prefer Barack Obama to Mitt Romney by a seven-to-one margin.
The Angus Reid survey is just one of a series of recent polls to find that were Obama facing Canadian voters, he would likely win a landslide victory.
Asked whom they would vote for if allowed to participate in the U.S. election, 72 per cent of Canadians said they would cast a ballot for Obama, while 10 per cent chose Romney. Eighteen per cent of respondents were unsure.
Results were similar in the United Kingdom, with 62 per cent voting for Obama and 6 per cent for Romney. Thirty-two per cent were unsure.

So Canada like the UK is in favour of a second term for the President. Apparently if the election was held north of the border it would be something of a landslide. If only aye! Canada ranks 6th globally in human development and has the 11th-largest economy and it also crops up in another brilliant West Wing episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ran24VcJ6eI

This is a long clip but might help to pass your day. Or scroll to 08:15 for poor Donna's revelation! Thanks for letting me indulge my West Wing love, soon I'll end up adding Friends clips because I miss that show! Favourite West Wing clip or Friends for that matter?

The Heart of Nationalism

The first essay I wrote on Scottish Independence was my third year history project in 1997. "Should Scotland become Independent?" or some such was the title if memory serves. No to Independence but Yes to Devolution I believe was my conclusion. And so far so good. 

So here we are all 'devolved' and yet being governed overall by a party and PM we had no real part in electing and those we did choose are still harping on about Independence.  I wrote that first essay against the background of those northerly isles of Orkney, a backdrop vastly different in political profile to the SNP heartland of Perthshire where I now live. So will I vote with the 'distrusting of the central belt' North or trust local golden boy and once party leader John Swinney? What solutions I wonder would my 15 yr old self come up with now?

Honestly I'm not sure. If the referendum were tomorrow I'm not sure which way I'd be voting. It does feel a little head v heart. Which is I think the problem facing the SNP Yes campaign. Because with Nationalism it really needs to be all heart. Recent polls show that although support for the Yes campaign is dipping that, if people found themselves even £500 a year better off they would vote with the SNP. Some even went so far as to say if their finances remained the same they would vote Yes. It's this second group that I think conform to traditional features of a nationalism agenda; engaging with the broader picture, putting their identity as Independent Scots above economics and yes voting with their heart. However as Andrew Smith, in the Huffington Post, points out it is probably the first group who will hold the key to success. This is how he puts it "In order to win they need to listen to people's concerns, no matter how trivial they seem, and focus as much on 'bread and butter' issues as grand narratives. In addition, the economic case for independence has to be articulated as something more than just an anti Tory vote."*

 

Wars of nationalism or peaceful campaigns as we see now are rarely fought and won on economic policy. It's true that in order to gain support the SNP will have to come up with some concrete and clearly understood answers to the economic questions being currently posed. I will try to come back to this at a later stage. However, I just dont think that when it comes time to go to the polling station that fiscal policy will be what makes me or anyone else of voting age (including those under 18 for I believe the first time in the UK in modern elections??) tick one box or another. In that moment the images we reflect upon will be our history, our identity and our 'nation' which ever way we imagine that to be. This romantic journey is often the basis of nationalism and where it all begins - 'imagining' and creating the collective memory through language, history and yes nowadays media. This romanticism is criticised by Tom Gallagher in his article "The Rapid and Unlikely Rise of Scotland's Independence Movement" saying "the freedom journey has enjoyed success in a febrile atmosphere of poor-quality media". Bit harsh Tom some people like 'River City' and 'Nina and the Neurons'.

 

Mr Gallagher (writer(decent)lecturer(poor)and previous tutor(very poor) of yours truly) who has written widely on various births of European nations is apparently quite well known for being anti Mr Alex Salmond, whom he calls machiavellian in this article. This is all quite amusing but doesn't really bring us further forward in the debate. Do I trust Mr Salmond? no not as far as I could throw him, but I do l like his tenacity and ability to stand up to Westminster.

 

The other element to consider here is timing. 2014 is just on the outer wave of the coalition government - their future is very much unknown. Should Cameron still have strong support south then Salmond will be able to garner voters with anti-conservative feeling. But the unpopularity of the coalition is based on the current economic instability and this is the big stumbling block for the Yes campaign. They cannot answer your questions about pensions, and sharing the country's debt, or whether Oil will be sufficient to launch this nation proudly into world's market. At least not the answers you want to hear.

 

Ultimately Mr Salmond's job is about capturing your imagination, fuelling your heart and stirring up any patriotic pride you might have. I disagree with Tom Gallagher I actually think they have used the media effectively and subtly. Yet again timing has been against them with 2012 being the biggest year for the Union in some time. Even Olympics can be forgotten though and 2014 is still 2 years of saltire waving, gaelic speaking, Westminster bashing and beautiful island images away!

 

NB: I will try to do another blog looking at the ins and outs of the process and economics and withhold the right to totally change my opinion several times ;)

 

P.S As always please do add to my muddled thoughts!

 

 

* Reading Between the Polls; Building a Majority For Scottish Independence
Andrew Smith| 24 Oct, 2012 08:50 PM BST Huffington Post

Conversation Countdown

So i wrote something along these lines in my facebook status. And it got me onto this blog writing thing as it was perhaps a little heavy for a status update. Certainly not my usual 'strictly' updates or menu options! But what I really wanted to get at was a conversation I wanted to have with every American everyday until election day (Tues Nov 6th). A conversation about the responsibility and influence most probably don't even know they have.

I wanted to say I understand that the current economic climate is tough and that it appears to be getting worse. I know that during these times it's hard to see past the numbers. But to please look at the big picture and the end game..

I still want to say it and to encourage you all and yes even y'all to please think very hard before you vote for anyone else except Obama. Because economic seasons are just that; seasons, they rise and fall, they dip and peak. What matters is how you journey through them, who steers the course and ultimately what kind of nation you wish to be at the end.

Here in the UK 'we' chose to say goodbye to a brilliant economist and good politician because we associated him too closely with a government in charge during this downturn. People were swayed by tough talk, tv debates and numbers. And now... 'we' watch as social structures are taken down in the name of figures, promises are of course forgotten, the vulnerable are left to the side and we all cling to this thing called 'business'. I realise that since my first outburst along these lines employment does seem to be rising and we are apparently avoiding a double dip. Which I'm really hoping is the case because we are going to need every penny to rebuild the NHS, Universities and social care structures when we finally boot Cameron and his cronies out.

Please be careful - nations are not corporations. They are families, they are dreams, they are histories and they are people. If you have someone with dignity, grace and wisdom please be cautious what you trade this in for. You are voting for more than yourself, or even your local business - as important as that is- you are voting for the community that hasn't been bombed, the minority that hasn't been excluded and for the image of America as seen from many miles away.

More than this though, I think over the last weeks of campaigning and debates I have realised just how divided America seems. I think the biggest failure or perhaps dream lost from the previous 4 years of the Obama administration was the loss of unity of a nation driven by and for 'Change'. Perhaps it was a little too much to hope for, that one nation really could be indivisible under God. However, it has saddened me as a great lover of its people, mountains, malls and skies to see yet again the manner with which America conducts herself during Elections. Abusive language on sites like Instagram, Facebook and the like, the tv ads etc and even the candidates presentation of themselves and the issues during the debates. Hey I'm not saying we are necessarily any better. I have no idea how the UK is viewed during general elections(please do comment) - my guess is we are not viewed at all and that like at home our political spectrum is unfortunately of little interest. But despite my opposition to the PM and my scepticism of its outcomes I am proud we have a coalition government and even more proud of Scotland's burgeoning profile as user of Proportional Representation.

Would it not be worth fighting for more equal representation and diversity in the smaller parties in the US? Do you still feel a presidential model is working when you seem to have such little respect for your Presidents? Are you willing to look beyond isolationism for the good of others?

All things Poli Sci

I remember one of my first ever politics lecturers saying we were scientists. I wasn't particularly impressed as I didn't see the connection and had never done well in science. But since marrying my science and technology obsessed husband I am becoming increasingly dragged into that once unknown realm. And it is certainly quite fun to think of oneself as a political scientist. Indeed I can now see not only where the sphere of science (think weapons, oil, food technology to name but a few) directly cross over into 'politics' but also how the theory, strategy and art of politics is a science. It's a constantly changing, exciting, exploratory realm. Theories need to be tested, it is a living breathing thing and is also hopefully at least some of the time working towards an improvement in the human condition.

 

This will be another short entry as I'm still trying to figure this whole blog thing out, but also because it is not my aim to write neverending rambles but to leave you with thoughts, questions and articles to read etc. I'm hoping for some discussion but mainly for the chance to research and expound theories I think have merit, open up angles on current situations and hopefully strengthen my only political views!

 

Like many of you I am concerned about the upcoming US elections, the role that tv debates play in a voter's choice, the 2014 referendum on Independence for Scotland and a bunch of other stuff like how 'religion' is manipulated and misunderstood in the political arena.

 

Before launching into any of these and in keeping with debates theme I will leave you in the far more capable hands of Jed and Abigail Bartlett :)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyqzPu5pX6U

 

 

 

Hey!

The old saying goes; never talk about politics and religion. But I have hardly managed to stay away from either for a day in my life. One the pleasure and one the purpose? Perhaps. But both equally significant, captivating, completely mundane (in the wrong hands) and things that will no doubt take up most of the rest of my days. So please join in with thoughts, articles and musings. If you're racist, ignorant or generally stupid feel free to open your mind and be educated but please don't try to spread your hatred here.