Utdrag fra en brukbar BBC-kommentar til USAs doble ettpartisystem.
Tenk hvis amerikanerne en dag skulle få fem FORSKJELLIGE partier
å velge mellom og ikke bare snarlike populistiske vrøvlehoder og
plastikk-kandidater med verbal candyfloss til program?
Tenk hvis USA fikk demokrati. Men det er mer sannsynlig at de
bidrar til at vi får avskaffet restene av vårt via
EU-etterligningen av USA.
Fø. kom nå meldingen som forventet om at Bush II/Reagan III
leder soleklart over plastikk-Gore i opinionsmålingenes
forhåndsmanipulasjoner.
Karsten Johansen
...
In 1996 less than half the American electorate bothered to vote in a
presidential election for the first time. At that moment, you could argue
that America has failed the critical litmus test of a genuine democracy.
The reason is obvious: fewer and fewer people feel any connection with
Washington. To try to counter this drift, many of the states decided this
time around to open their primaries to all comers. You did not have to be a
member of any party to vote for a particular candidate.
The effect was impressive. In the California primary the turn-out was 40%
higher than in 1996. In Michigan, it doubled. The Republican Party faithful,
dogged and monolithic still duly voted - voted for the man whom their bosses
groomed. In no state did McCain the outsider ever win more than 40% of his
own party. But the waverers, the independents, the first-time voters all
flocked to him. To be able to extend your support into that crucial no man's
land of the centre is the essential requirement of success in any election
and McCain had it.
For all his silver hair, he offered something new. His unique life story.
His willingness to take on the iron triangle, as he called it, of politics,
money and special interests. Here was a man who, in the jargon of the very
twentysomethings who feel so alienated by the political process, "got it".
But if the pashas of either party ever considered abandoning their chosen
candidate they never showed it. The big money and the vested interests
propelled Gore and Bush to victory. McCain and Bradley proved there is a
hunger for reform, but the parties were not prepared to embrace them.
Long live Bill Clinton
Gore and Bush are both doing all they can to prove they are not like
Clinton. They talk endlessly about restoring pride and principle to the
White House. Yet they've shown they're willing to do and say whatever is
required to be elected. They talked about campaign finance reform only after
the polls showed people cared about it. George W Bush denounced abortion and
embraced the religious conservatives when he was told to and is now swinging
around to show he is a moderate once again.
It's a time-honoured practice, followed by many a successful candidate. But
in doing so, he is proving he is not so much a detractor as an imitator of
Bill Clinton, the consummate tactician. Clinton is dead, long live Bill
Clinton.
What Americans loved about McCain and Bradley is that they did not do this.
They said what they believed and didn't mind if you didn't like it. McCain's
bus was called the Straighttalk Express. Of course he went too far at times
but that was the point.
If you say you are different to Clinton because the polls show that is the
right thing to say then you have just proved you are no different. Bush and
Gore, as they say "just don't get it".
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