Choices without a Vote

Like everyone else on this planet who has the slightest interest in politics, I too have an opinion about the US presidential elections.

8 years ago, I preferred George Bush to Gore, mainly because I thought that the latter was untrustworthy (if I recall correctly, he had been quoted as saying, "I invented the Internet."). How much would have I now given for a Gore presidency! The disinclination towards Gore continued in 2004, when I hoped that John Edwards would capture the Democratic nomination (Of course, I then preferred anyone to Bush).

Now, America is in midst of another presidential election process. John Edwards is campaigning again, but there are many better candidates on offer, I think.

There's Obama, the charming senator from Illinois. I've never really heard him on TV actually, so don't have an intuitive reaction to him. But from whatever I've read in newspapers and magazines, he is a moderate who will undo atleast some of the bitter divisiveness fostered by the Bush administration within the US and improve America's image in the world. He's an unknown quantity though, and in 2000, I had similar expectations of Bush.

There's Clinton, the NY senator. I don't really like her, and think that she's phony, in the sense of sounding like she's entitled to the job, and so very obviously qualified for it. I can easily imagine her being holier-than-thou in her speeches if she becomes president. In short, I think that she will hardly be the reconciling figure that is needed. Nevertheless, she has experience of being in a place of high power, and among the Democrats, she has the sharpest grasp of specific issues and has come out with the most detailed policy plans.

Finally, on the Republican side, there's McCain, the senator from Arizona. If elected, he would be the oldest US President ever, I read somewhere. He was a prisoner-of-war for 5 years during the Vietnam War. He is a Republican, but socially quite liberal, supporting gay marriage (I think), immigration and abortion. He is a fiscal conservative. He's likely to be hawkish in foreign policy, and I can easily imagine him using US military might aggressively (though not bungling a campaign as badly as Bush did in Iraq). Not very sure about his stance on environmental and trade-related issues, but overall he is someone whom I consider sincere, straight-talking and amenable to reason. If I had a vote, it would go to John McCain.