Wednesday, 3 November 2004
Four More Years, putain
It's official, as of a bit over an hour and a half ago: Bush won the 2004 elections.
I can't say that I'm surprised, since I was sure of his victory as long ago as January (I have witnesses). While I was hopeful that Kerry might win against the odds (that is, the ones I gave him), I never wavered in my pessimistic - or perhaps, pragmatic - prediction.
The Democrats have for too long defined themselves in relation to the Republicans - what they do better or nicer or whatever. This ultimately gives the game to the Republicans.
One American official (I forget who) being interviewed on Arte (an excellent arts and news TV channel) last night said that Bush wanted to be President incredibly strongly (obviously, my paraphrase). Neither Kerry nor any of the other potential opposing candidates seemed to have that hunger, that drive.
Until the Democrats are willing to risk making strong positions on their own and backing them up, they will always be on the defensive. Clinton's and Carter's wins are flukes in this context. The U.S. is and will continue to be a Republican nation precisely because they are able set the rules of the game. Not that I hate the Republicans, but rather the religious extremism and self-righteousness that they now represent.
I moved to Paris for my own personal and professional growth, but I was also happy to get away from a nation which I felt was on the wrong path. This I felt well before Bush was the Republican nominee for 2000, or even taken seriously as a candidate in 1999. Now, I'm happy to be staying for what I hope will be the entirety of his second term as well.
I used to say that I was proud to be an American, despite everything. Now, I'm less sure of that and I blame a lot of it on the cynical cronyism that is the Bush Administration.
Anyway, useful knowledge for all those who want to come join the cheese-eating surrender monkeys:
sondage: polls, as in the sets of questions posed by media outlets
scrutin: polls, as in the results of the voting booths; often a confusing distinction for the U.S. media outlets and many citizens
mandat: a term (as in, "the presidential term lasts four years"); not to be confused with Bush's interpretation of a minuscule, contested win as a "mandate from the people" to trample their rights
connard: asshole
con: short for "asshole," but interchangeable with "idiot"; funny how that works, eh?
Comments
I have also watched these elections from afar. I am currently for the next year will be resident in Zimbabwe. The feelings here are very mixed regarding Bush or Kerry. Many feel Kerry would have been better for Americans and the overall international community, but as one person here has remarked who is clearly among the opposition to M, "M is scared by Bush. He knows that if Bush says he is coming here tomorrow, the Marines will be arriving and bombing tomorrow, no matter what anyone thinks, even if Bush later finds out it was a bad idea, he won't wait to discover it and M will be gone." When I said that Zim is no where on Bush's radar screen the person said that doesn't matter b/c M believes that he just could be on radar. Interestingly enough except for the removal of Hussein everyone here thinks that Iraq was disastrous and parts of the Zim economy are really hurting as a result. I will be posting some very random comments to www.mindbuzz.net on life in Zim. Particularly with the upcoming elections here. I will find that to be a very different exercise in futility.