The 2008 US Presidential Election As a One-horse Race

The first debate of the 2008 US presidential electiongeographic proximity to Russia. The legitimacy of the
came on a Friday of an eventful week for the world.claim was backed by Cindy McCain, the presidential
The high level segment of the United Nations Generalcandidate's wife, and by John Bolton, the Republican
Assembly began on Tuesday in New York, the dayappointee by the current US president to the United
the US economy and Wall Street were already inNations, who never won confirmation to the post from
crisis.the United States Congress.
The high level segment of the UN's annual meeting ofWhen the financial crisis in the United States began on
the General Assembly has brought a host of worldthe Tuesday of the UN's high level segment opening,
leaders to New York since the end of the SecondJohn McCain suspended his campaign to rush back to
World War. In addition to creating traffic jams, hugeWashington. That's when his running mate began her
business booms and overtime for law enforcementmedia campaign in an apparent non-notification of the
officials at every level from local to national, the annualcampaign's suspension.
confab allows the Heads of the world's 200 countriesSarah Palin made the media rounds with three global
to tell their counterparts at the highest level aboutleaders in New York for United Nations appearances,
where they stand on issues of global concern. That, inmeeting with them in hotel rooms and not at the United
turn, lets them compare views, deflate differences asNations as was the implication in the media. The
much as possible, sidestep escalations of conflicts toclosest Palin got to the United Nations was during a
the point of war and agree on addressing commonwalk-by with Katie Couric in an interview whose
problems in a coherent, cooperative manner.transcript has alarmed Republicans and amused
Image on the global stage is indeed a concern forDemocrats no end.
these Heads of State leaders in a globallyOn Thursday Sarah Palin left New York, leaving behind
communicative world. This year, for example, USheart-warming stories of her acceptance by world
President George Bush softened his condemnation ofleaders and of her husband out on the town with four
"the axes of evil" to focus on the need for globalof their five children. On Friday, John McCain reversed
cooperation through institutions such as the Unitedposition and announced he would take part in that
Nations. Nicolas Sarkozy of France, as anothernight's first presidential debate despite the fact that the
example, called for a global Summit before the end offinancial crisis for which he had suspended his
the year for Heads of States to deal with the globalcampaign had deepened.
financial crisis.With that as a background for the first debate by
That crisis this year eclipsed other global issues ofwhich the country could decide which candidate was
concern, including the climate change due to 200 yearsbest suited to lead the United States in its crisis, the
of industrialization, the threat of terrorism againstMcCain claim for competence to that position was
established orders and the weight of the globalbeyond sad and downright painful and pathetic.
middle-class voice and that of the poor in policies atJohn McCain was an old man on the debating floor
national, regional and international levels. A global fuelwith Barack Obama, not because of his age but
crisis was also a concern this year, as was a globalbecause of his views. The admirable war hero John
food crisis, with food costs having escalated some 30McCain could not look the younger man beside him in
percent in the past year according to the UN's Worldthe eye. Judging by the eye-blinks of nervousness,
Food Programme and many others.anger and fear, that was because he knew his warrior
As leader after leader spoke at the UN this year, thestance of America needing to "defend" itself and
failure of America's financial institutions at the scale of"defeat" its enemies was washed up in light of Barack
a melt-down made clear just how dependent AmericaObama's call for steps to give America the means to
was on the rest of the world and vice versa,make life better for its people.
particularly because America's financial crisis rode onAmerica is in serious trouble. America needs the world
the wave of an unprecedented show of interest bynow, just as the world needs American innovativeness
the world at large in the affairs of other nations, shownand leadership. America and its financial institutions
during the Olympics just prior to America's two nationalneed to get together with other world leaders to
political conventions. The interest is a direct result ofdecide how factories can be retooled to make
the 20-year-old media and communications explosionirrigation systems for arid countries, as an example, so
across the world.that America can lead the global movement to
The steam from the globally popular Democraticaddress globally common problems.
convention in which a Black candidate was selectedNational preparedness for war is still a concern. But
for the first time ever to be a major presidentialmaking that preparedness the platform for
nominee was stolen the day after it ended by thecompetence to lead the country is no longer an option
Republican candidate announcing his choice of ain a global world. The position is as obsolete as the
radical conservative White woman to be his runningdinosaur of prehistory, the horse-and-buggy of
mate. While the move energized the party and madepre-industrialization and the notion that might-makes
the maverick John McCain more attractive with theright before the right-makes-might power of the
gushing attentions of a former beauty queenyounger generations raised on the vast resources of
contestant backing him, the vice-presidential candidatethe internet for good and growth instead of
was kept from the media spotlight once her claim fordominance, fear and hate.
international experience was made on the basis of