Friday, November 05, 2004

Eh-hum # 33

The (so-called) Most Powerful Man (or Person) in the WORLD

It was obviously a grueling campaign period for both incumbent President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry and the highlight, apart from the 3 presidential debates, was their respective anti-films and political ads, which, I guess, was all the rage during that particular time. The both were critical, to the point of being personal and some that circulated online, were inappropriate and pretty dumb (yeah, that piece about Kerry and Edward’s “relationship”). Perhaps, the most famous of all, and grossed millions of dollars worldwide, was Michael Moore’s
Fahrenheit 9/11. Controversial as it is, the film is about the Bush administration's actions in the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Like the presidential debates, it also speaks of the much discussed Iraq War and the US’ crusade against terrorism. Regardless of the stormy weather, the two presidential candidates continued to tour the country and convince these people why the ballot should say Bush or Kerry. They say it’s a tight race and I couldn’t agree more. However, there can only be one winner.

In fairness to Kerry, he took the decision with dignity and sincerely expressed his aspiration for a unified America (so unlike the politicians here, maybe we should seriously consider computerizing our election system). As PGMA congratulated “Dubya”, we wonder what’s the implication of the Republican’s victory to his country, to the World, and more importantly, to Iraq and the war on terror (maybe, I should read on this more or wait to hear some valuable insights from political analysts. ABANGAN!). Let me just share one effect was the increase in oil prices (gggrreeeaaaaatttt, just what we need: another oil price hike) due to the uncertainty in the Middle East. Furthermore, him winning was a relief to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and fellow re-electionist, Australian Prime Minister John Howard (hmmmm, I bet Blair would be praying that Lady Luck would also smile on him in UK elections), both being staunch supporters of the Iraq war and all. Like Blair and Howard, other world leaders expressed their congratulations.

No comments: