Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Barack Obama

Said Nadkarni: "There is a degree of xenophobia among Americans — what is not like them is viewed with an element of suspicion. I think Obama is going to change that." Nadkarni was talking about how the public discourse on immigration affected her daily interactions with the American people. While she acknowledged that some Indian Americans had conflicting views on the candidate best equipped to address the key issues affecting them — such as the Indo-US civilian nuclear treaty and security — she herself never changed her mind about Obama.

A pre-election poll by the non-profit organization Bridging Nations immediately before the election had predicted that fully 81 per cent of Indian-Americans favoured Obama and Joe Biden, with barely 19 per cent rooting for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

McCain's steep drop in popularity in recent months is being blamed on the ongoing economic slump that brought down Bush's approval rating to below 30 per cent. Worse, McCain's choice of the inexperienced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate found few takers among large sections of traditional Republican voters.

A national election exit poll conducted on behalf of AP and other major US TV networks said responses from nearly 10,500 voters after voting suggested that Obama had succeeded in mobilizing African-American voters to an unprecedented extent. He won 95 per cent of the black vote against McCain's 4 per cent. Moreover, Obama was also a major hit with the Hispanic voters whom Bush had partly succeeded in winning over in 2004. McCain led slightly among white voters.

But no surveys or polls are needed to conclude that the Americans know just what is good for them and the rest of the world. The melting pot that is the US of A has shown that the man holding its top job can be of any origin — and that black is better than white if it can deliver better.....Continue