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US public and Middle East to pay price of Republican and Democratic cowardiceBy Paul J. Balles*10 May 2008 Paul J. Balles argues that, if the US Republicans and Democrats believed in real change, they would have nominated Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich – two men who would not run away from the truth – to run for the presidency. Focused on issues or trivia, US media giants continue to revel in election politics. Three US senators have been busily campaigning for nominations for the US presidency. Whether it's Hillary Clinton trying to be more macho than her male opponents, or John McCain attempting to display more chutzpah than G.W. Bush, or Barack Obama disowning the mentor he should be praising, the whole process is a sideshow on demand. The "on demand" part of the sideshow comes from the American public. If the Republicans wanted brains at the helm rather than a Bush clone, they would have nominated Ron Paul, a candidate whose foreign policy would keep America from pre-emptive and presumptive wars. Paul wouldn't be spending his time in Florida trying to convince voters there, as McCain has, that the Democratic candidates would jeopardize Israel's security and that the US should bomb Iran. If the Democrats didn’t believe that change can only be made by electing either a woman or a black American, they might have nominated Dennis Kucinich, the only candidate with the brains and the integrity to bring about real change. Kucinich wouldn't be threatening, as Hillary Clinton has, to "totally obliterate" Iran. To his credit, Obama had enough sense to reject that sort of sabre-rattling when he told Tim Russert of MSNBC
In the early debates, Kucinich revealed that he wouldn't run from the truth even when it hurt. Unfortunately, he couldn't convince the voters that the most patriotic citizens often criticize and accept deserved criticism of their own country. Obama ran from the truth of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's sermons and turned on his pastor. In his most famous sermon, Wright told the truth:
Obama should have praised his pastor’s integrity and wisdom. Ron Paul would have. Dennis Kucinich would have. But they lost. The real losers: the American public and the Middle East. *Paul J. Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years. For more information, see http://www.pballes.com. Copyright © Redress Information & Analysis. All rights reserved. |