The US Presidential Elections: The American process (11)

US Presidential Elections The American Process (11)

ACHO ORABUCHI

Thursday, November 11, 2004

The American electorate has spoken! And profoundly and stridently, the people spoke.

Undoubtedly, with a heavy sigh of relief, the presidential campaign, which was over analyzed, ended, the campaign ads ceased, and voters concluded this year’s United States presidential elections with long hours of waiting at the polls. Some liked the outcome and others did not. Perhaps, we should realize that while an individual ballot may represent a personal conscience expressed when the curtain is drawn, the final decision, no matter how it is perceived, is the representative of the collective conscience of the people, the epitome of democracy. Furthermore, according to Anthony Walton, “America's greatest strength, and its greatest weakness, is our belief in second chances, our belief that we can always start over, that things can be made better.”

What has been an intensive negative and assiduous campaign has finally ended with majority of voters choosing the incumbent, President George Bush for a second term. For John Forbes Kerry, the dream and journey that started way before the Iowa Democratic Causes ended despondently on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 when he conceded to President George Walker Bush. But for Bush, it ended gleefully considering the plurality of support he received from the American electorate.

In any case, some had thought that Kerry would replicate Boston Red Sox’s victory. On the verge of obvious elimination, the Boston Red Sox came from behind, 0-3, against the New York Yankees to win the pennant 4-3 and proceeded to win the World Series by beating the Cardinals 4-0 in the best of 7 series. Some had hoped that in a similar fashion, the Boston native, Senator John Forbes Kerry would come from behind to win the presidency in the face an undaunted task and possible annihilation in the hands of an incumbent president, George Walker Bush. Though Kerry revived his campaign after the first presidential debate. Kerry again reached down to rally from behind, but this time he fell short of his dreams in a classical presidential election. Indeed, it was not meant to be for Kerry.

The USA presidential elections sparked some reactions around the world. Some Nigerian-American weighed in cautiously on the outcome.

Geoffrey I. Nzeadibe, referring to the outcome of the election, said, “My first reaction is the confirmation of my belief that politics is a dirty game were truth is the first casualty and distortions and lies become the "truth". My second reaction is that I thank God that He is the maker, owner and ruler of the world because if it were put in the hands of man, it will not last no more than a couple of decades. In summation, democracy may be the best form of government man has devised, it is still far from perfect and even US Of A is still practicing it.”

Emeka Churuba opined, “I think morality played a critical role in the election. Politicians are known to answer the questions that were not asked and smartly, in most cases, avoid those asked if they look good on their ticket. At some time in life it becomes necessary to take a stand and make it clear.”

Faith based issues like same sex marriage, stem cell research, abortion, etc are some of the major ones that decided this election. Politics is a game of numbers, you have to look around and do the math. If you are to take a stand on same sex marriage for instance, what size of the population will "kick" your leg if you come against it and what size

will smile and give you thumbs up if you dance the other way? Work your numbers.

Politics is not about reality or truthfulness but numbers,” he continued.

On the other hand, Americans tend to rally round their president in times of war. That may to a certain extent, have played its own role in the presidential election. All the ongoing not withstanding, the election is over, we all have to ask God to, as usual, look not upon our sins and weaknesses but to make His wills for us come true in the end,” Churuba concluded.

Should the world care about who becomes the USA’s president? Yes, Africans and Nigerians in particular should care about who the USA’s president is. Most importantly, Nigeria should learn from the process in order to improve her system.

In my opinion, Bush’s victory is God’s design, but for whatever reason, I do not know. The revelation may be unveiled down the road. This concluding part puts the final touches on a collage that depicts the portrait of American democracy. I hope the series have been very informative and we learned a valuable lesson on how democracy works.