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|Monday Sept 13, 2004 |
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A
spirited but dignifided debate
Tales from my trip to so-called
"swing-states" Ohio, Minnesota and Oregon
Even though
Canadians try hard to be different, the similarities between us and
the Americans are stunning. Take the presidential elections, for
instance: most of the people don't like U.S. President George Bush,
but, looking at it right itıs most likely, heıs going to win again
the next election. Why? Theyıre not convinced of the alternative.
Sound familiar? I was in the U.S. a couple weeks ago on a trip
organized by the Foreign Press Centre in the U.S. State Department.
The purpose of the trip was to visit some of the so-called
"swing-states" like Ohio, Minnesota and Oregon.
We
interviewed State House Representatives, U.S. Congressmen, former
politicians, academics, community leaders and people in the streets
and all of them, yes, all of them, had bad things to say about
President Bush.
However, based on those conversations, I developed the
strong feeling that, barring any major event like a major terrorist
attack, or a radical change in Democratic presidential candidate
John Kerry's campaign, President Bush is going to win again.
You could see the frustration of many Democrats about the
present state of their campaign. Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, of
Ohio, told Canadian journalists that, "President Bush lied about the
war in Iraq, the state of the economy is poor, he increased the
budget deficit, we lost a lot of manufacturing jobs, 45 million of
Americans are without health care: what more do we need to vote him
out of the office?" However Kucinich admitted that "this is going to
be a very close election." Why? The answer is in two elements of
the campaign: the issues debated and the consistency of the
alternative.
Just last week, an AP-Ipsos poll, indicated that
terrorism, safety and economy are the most important issues
concerning the Americans. Among all three issues, Americans have
doubts about Bush's approach but, at the same time, according to the
polls, they are unconvinced that John Kerry is going to do a better
job than Bush. Yes, they know that Bush lied about Iraq, but the
fear of terrorism is real; and they do not believe that Kerry will
do better. Itıs the same with the economy: probably Bush will lose
Ohio because thousands of jobs disappeared, but the economy is not
the main issue in Minnesota. Tim Penny, co-director of the Humphrey
Institute Policy Forum in Minneapolis, said values and security will
be the main issues in his state.
"The Democrats do very well when we talk about social
issues and medicare, but this is not enough to overcome the concerns
in other sectors." A Columbus State Community College in Columbus,
Ohio, shared the same concerns: "I'll definitely vote for Kerry,
even though I don't believe he will do anything for health care.
Clinton appointed his wife, [and that] still didn't do it." Kerry
will get the vote of this student, but how many Americans are ready
to to overcome their doubts? Americans are focusing on the
alternative to the present administration, but it is also clear
that, up to now, they are not convinced they have one.
Many Democrats blame the media: "I'm tired," says Penny,
"of this debate about who did what during a war, the one in Vietnam,
finished 30 years ago, when we have the one in Iraq now." Penny said
he believes that the media are "manipulated" by political
organizations that devote most of their energy and financial
resources in this activity.
And Democrats are in trouble because Republicans are
doing in this regard a better job: "Can you imagine," said Democrat
Ohio House State Representative Ed Jerse, "that under scrutiny is
the military record of a war hero like Kerry and not Bush's?"
Representative Jerse express serious concerns about Kerry's campaign
ability to deal with the situation: "Yes, I'm concerned. They need
an effective war room to react swiftly to those attacks from the
Bush campaign." Kucinich dismiss this concern; he blames media and
says that "we don't need a war room; it's time for peace room." It
is, of course, a noble statement, but Kerry's campaign needs to be
revamped. Frustration for the present situation is also expressed
by Unions leaders we meet at the United Labor Agency. In Cleveland
we talk to union leaders, policy analysts and academics who inundate
us with numbers about job losses in manufacturing in Cleveland area.
They believe that Bush's policies are destroying the middle class in
America and attack the free trade: "Although trade advocates argued
that North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade agreements
would add jobs to the U.S. economy, 45,734 Ohio jobs lost between
1995 and Oct 2003 can be directly traced to international trade."
They attack the present administration and its promises to fight
poverty.
George Zeller, from the Cleveland Council for Economic
Opportunities, said that "fighting poverty means one thing: finding
jobs for people; and, this administration destroyed jobs." There is
a lot of frustration in Ohio against the Bush administration,
nonetheless, when myself and the other Canadian journalists talk to
the Democrat candidate Eric Fingerhut, who challenges Republican
Senator George Voinovich, said that the fight is tight. Some predict
his defeat.
There are almost two more months to the vote and Kerry's
campaign has a lot of time to sharpen up its tactics and convince
the American people that they have the alternative they are looking
for, however, before they solve the problem, they must admit they
have one.
During all the meetings I had during the trip, I was able
to better understand the present situation in the U.S. but, most of
all, appreciate the spirited, yet, civilized debate. American voters
know theyıre choosing not just the next president of the U.S., but
the U.S. they want to leave behind in future decades. The debate is
alive, but there is no hysteria: they know the future of their
country and the rest of the world will be seriously influenced by
the outcome of the vote. They face this task with responsibility and
courage.
During the meeting with the students in the University
College in Columbus, I noticed the articulated and strong
intervention of a young woman against President Bush and the war in
Iraq. She documented her points firmly, but professionally. While
we were leaving the class, a colleague of hers, told us that the
night before her parents had received a call from their son in
Baghdad. He told them that he was coming home but was not
completely happy: "I'm leaving in Iraq a leg and an eye."
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