Back in December, I spoke with my boss about the American elections. Already, back then it was heating up into an interesting race…between the two democratic candidates. The Republican field was fractured with no major powers in play after the collapse of John McCain in September. The democrats, on the other hand, were motivated and pumped up by the lamentable George W. Bush Presidency and the prospect of a history-making choice of nominees (sorry Mr. Edwards, this just wasn’t your year). When discussing the choice of candidates, I tipped Hillary Clinton for the nomination – not on strength of her candidacy but because of the perceived power of the Clinton political machine. I’d expected her to make a quick hash out of Obama regardless of the fact that I believed Barack was really the better of the two candidates.

Well, I guess that’s what comes from being an outside observer. I’m sure (more…)

Demographers, pollsters and scientists have a lot to answer for. The New York Times ran a story about Barack Obama and how citizens of composite origins identify with him. The article wrote about people being pigeonholed into “Black”, “White” ore “Asian”. What I found most repulsive, however, was the suggestion that one had to be 100% black/white/asian – whatever – to “fit in”. Alright, so I admit I’m living with my head in a hole…honestly, I’ve known of this at the intellectual level, so it’s really a matter of something triggering my self-righteous indignation enough to post a psychopathic rant about things that I long ago filed away to simmer at the back of my mind.

Anyone who’s read my previous posts (more…)

No, seriously. Spam campaigns on pro-Obama message boards don’t constitute a savvy web strategy. Slander on political web blogs doesn’t constitute a savvy web strategy. So unless the Clinton campaign is staffed are utter morons (more…)

“It is understandable and acceptable that actions do speak louder than words, but it is also notable that all actions start with words.”

Just thought I’d share this quote with everyone, Clintonites take special heed. I’m still paying more attention to the current political turmoil in my own Malaysia, but I’ll be back with more soon, particularly Obama’s incredible speech.

Well, the Malaysian elections are all over while the fratricidal battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama drags on as old John McCain struggles to make up the mileage against his formidable potential foes. The US elections are a world and a half away from the twisted, corrupt farce that are the Malaysian elections, yet both the democrats and republicans will do well to keep in mind the results of this quasi-democratic exercise from the middle of Asia’s willy.

Right from the outset the ruling National Front (BN), an all-conquering juggernaut, formed of a coalition of numerous political parties goose stepping in time to the beat of the ruling Malay nationalist party UMNO, dominated the electoral scene. Dominating the media airwaves, they arrogantly assumed (more…)

Everyone is now talking about how this year’s elections have already been groundbreaking in the way it’s broken from the trench deadlock of partisan warfare that has characterized the last series of Presidential elections, from Clinton to Bush. Everyone is chirping about the arrival of the “millennials” and their inclusive, conciliatory brand of politics that looks set, perhaps, to change the way politicians appeal to voters –focusing once again on the middle ground of moderate voters instead of trying to rally “the base”.

Sorry, but this is politics, not war. The bitter trench war between blue team and red team hasn’t gone away. It’s simply going through a period of shifting alliances and partisan ideologies just as it did with Reagan or (more…)