Madness of US presidential race begins

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
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By the time India wakes up on Tuesday, the campaign for one of the most-watched elections in the world that of the next President of the United States (POTUS) — will have begun. Iowa, the Midwestern State, will have cast votes at the first of the series of long-drawn calendar of primaries/caucuses that go on till June.

Iowa, known as the Hawkeye State, can show which way the political wind is blowing even though in real terms its vote will add only a minor portion to the delegate count the prospective candidates pick up. The Grand Old 'Republican' Party allocated Iowa 30 of the 2,475 delegates and the Democratic Party allocated 52 of its 4,768 delegates who get to select the presidential candidate at the national conventions of the Party. The Republicans scheduled it at Cleveland and Democrats at Columbus, Ohio.

Quite like 2008, when the then young Senator Barack Obama fought a bruising battle within the party, beat back Democratic aspirant Hillary Clinton and challenged the Republican Party to become the President, this time there are a few similarities. Eight years ago, the then incumbent President George Bush had completed his second four-year term and Vice President Dick Cheney had opted out of the race. This year the Democrats are in a similar situation. President Obama completing his second-term and Vice President Joe Biden deciding not to join the presidential race.

Having struck success in successive mid-term elections, the Republican Party is launching an all-out battle to recapture the White House. During the last eight years, the Republicans gradually gained control of the US Congress, first gaining majority in the Senate and then in the House of Representatives, a chamber with the power of the purse. With a grip on the Congress, the Republicans rendered crucial legislative blows to President Obama's grand plans, including the ambitious healthcare programme. The Iowa poll will be the first indicator for both the Republican and Democrat aspirants. Realty tycoon Donald Trump is leading the pack of 12 aspirants. His unusual surge with the people and the ability to convert them into support will be tested at Iowa, then at the New Hampshire primary (February 9), followed by primaries/caucuses of Nevada caucus and South Carolina this month. March 1 will be the super Tuesday elections in 14 States as the field narrows.

Among the Republican challengers are: Governors John Kasich (Ohio) and Chris Christie (New Jersey), Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, former Governors Jeb Bush (Florida) and brother of former US president George Bush, Jim Gilmore (Virginia), Mike Huckabee (Arkansas), former Senator Rick Santorum, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former business executive Carly Fiorina. The Democratic field is thin, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton being challenged by Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. In 2008, when Hillary sought nomination, the argument flipped around whether the US was ready to have a woman or a Black as the President. This writer witnessed the campaigning for the 2008 presidential elections from close while working as a Fulbright fellow in the US Congress, what with the majority of the aspirants then Senators, Obama, Clinton and eventual Republican challenger John McCain serving on the Capitol Hill. Back then the dominant view was that Hillary Clinton cannot claim White House as an entitlement because her experience of the world is limited to few years in the Senate and eight as the First Lady of the United States. However, now she can flaunt her work as the US Secretary of State.

As Iowa prepared for caucuses, Hillary won the backing of the prestigious and influential New York Times. The daily also felt that for the Republicans it was time to reset the race, clearly distancing from Trump. In the runup to the start of the nominations race, the dominant issues in the US are: immigration, gun control, healthcare, taxes, refugees and climate change. Although known to be land of immigrants, Trump's rant against Muslim immigrants and the recent image of throwing out a Sikh who stood up for the Muslims during a rally convey a strong but queasy message from the person to the outside world. What do the elections hold for India in general and Indian-Americans? The abortive attempt by Bobby Jindal insisting on being seen as an American and not a hyphenated Indian-American is an issue for immigrants. During the 2008 elections, Obama often talked of India and China and the strong education in maths and science adding to the edge. Trump now mentions it in the context of the rise of the economies of these countries and the declining leadership role of the US.

An interesting aspect of these elections that the world and even most of the Americans may not know or care to know is it is not a two-party race. There are more names on the ballot representing various hues, including the Green Party and the Libertarians but they seldom get reported in the media. Often, these contestants cannot match the high-budget spending of candidates backed by the main parties. The frenzy generated by the media just ignores the rest. As a matter of fact, 1,524 persons filed a report with the Federal Election Commission of the United States declaring to be a candidate for the elections. The presence of an odd Kaka-Joginder-Singh-Dhartipakad phenomenon cannot be ruled out but there are some legitimate candidates who differ in their approach to politics and the way they think the US should be governed. The Us presidential polls are an interesting and exhaustive exercise.
 
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