Hooray for Huckabee

US Elections

I know a lot of folks out there who think that the world would probably have been a different place if the US Supreme Court had allowed a recount in Florida. I have no doubt that it would have been a better one. For one thing, we would not have had to gape at our television screens on hearing the "axis of evil" speech. For another, Bob Woodward would not have written another wildly successful bestseller. Or he would have found another topic to write about. Whatever! The point is that like it or not, the US presidential elections affect everyone. It certainly affects corporate lawyers who sit in their offices half way across the world, wondering during their coffee breaks when the US will fix its Pakistan policy. Especially when most of his clients just happen to be American companies doing business in India. So if I have somehow found the time to scrutinize the policies of each of the candidates and to follow what they have been saying all this while, then its not just preparation for my own political future. (Not in the US. thank you! They already have that guy called Bobby wassizface. I refuse to be called Peter Billimoria, even if it is to become the Governor of the Bihar of the US). It’s also to stop morons like you wondering what a silly cricket-crazy Delhi-ite will know about US politics. Surprise surprise!! In the electronic age, we don't need feet (or the backsides attached to them) to be planted in New York (more likely New Jersey which is where all the "Indian-Chinese" restaurants are) or California to be able to form informed opinions. And our opinions are probably more informed than at least several among the US electorate who have never applied for a passport, and who think that India is a "never developed" country of snake charmers and mahouts.

So as things stand right now, I have concluded that Huckabee is a candidate that the American people should seriously consider. Not that they will. But elections are not designed to always throw up the best candidate as the winner. Not even in the US. Why else do you think that guy Edwards wears his plastic smile and talks about "doing something" for the poor! His "winning formula" is simple. Attack the insurance companies! Is he really serious about getting them to pay for what the government can’t fix? Even if it’s not in the insurance policy they wrote? Well! Even if he gets the "Dear John ... " treatment from the voters, he sure has a bright future in Indian politics since people who offer free lunches seem to win here all the time. Good thing that Hilary and O-Bama are streets (or primaries) ahead. (Poor joke intended to relieve your boredom).


And good luck to them both too. Not just for keeping “errant Ed” at bay but because they stand for change. A black president with a muslim genealogy? Or a woman? (Even if it will - in a way - be her third term!!). This surely must be the ultimate glass ceiling. In the US no less! The country where the libbers first started to burn their bras. Wasn’t that several decades ago? Meanwhile Israel had its Golda Meir, & we had our “Indira-jeee”. So did Sri Lanka & Pakistan for crying out loud (their own women presidents, not Indira-jeee!) (More PJ's to relieve more boredom).

But wait a minute. What is the agenda of these two "first ever in history" candidates? Mrs. C has her own health care plan of course. It’s a great idea. But most of it is in her book. (Some of it is unworkable but save that for another blog if she wins!) Thank God for small mercies. And O-Bama has his own charm. Great communicator! He did not need Oprah's endorsement. The women love him anyway. (Although not so much in New Hampshire it seems!). But seriously ... what IS their message? Is it getting lost in all the cacophony? Or is it just silly old me? Could it be that you can't, after all, form an informed opinion by reading BOTH the New York Times AND the Washington Post? Could it be, after all, that you need your feet (and yes your ... ) right in the kitchen of the Indian-Chinese joint after all?

Or could it be that the main message these candidates offer is just change? But change to what? Surely, Mrs. C will not stop all the outsourcing work coming to Bangalore & Gurgaon like Ed the (poverty) exterminator. But what will she do for the economy which is fast heading South? (Apart from consulting her husband on "How to wave the red flag to the bulls on wall street" I mean.) Can she pull it out from the inevitable recession it will be in when she takes oath? (Oh yes. The "R" word! Wow! That hurts. Especially when the Indian economy will come to the rescue with its rampant consumerism. But save that for yet another blog).

Truth be told, both these candidates are too left of centre on economic policy. Problem is that the Republicans are barely talking any sense too. And with the reds come other problems such as foreign policy driven by neocons. Except of course in a Huckabee administration! Now here we have a candidate who is a fiscal conservative and yet has compassion (witness how many death row inmates he has pardoned). A guy who cuts taxes to spur growth. (A formula which works every time all the time). And a level headed thinker on foreign policy. Although I suspect he will need and get a lot of help from the likes of Henry Kissinger. But at least we will not have any more "axis of evil" speeches. Too bad he will have to depend on the evangelical vote bank to make it through the primaries. But if he makes it, then finally, we see a candidate who holds out the promise to do the right thing. Which is simply to govern well, keep government small and keep it out of business. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.