Also see below:
The Boston Globe | A New Direction •
Go to Original
Eyes of the World on U.S. Election
By David McHugh
The Associated Press
Tuesday 02 November 2004
Berlin - To an extraordinary degree, politicians, media and ordinary people across the globe are riveted by Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, drawn into the dead-heat contest between President Bush and John Kerry by a deep-rooted feeling that the world has a huge stake in the outcome.
Bush's go-it-alone stance on many issues - from the Kyoto Treaty to the war in Iraq - as well as his religious outlook, his Texas background and single-minded approach, have mobilized and polarized people all over the world, even if they can't vote.
Polls in many countries - and a quick survey of the newspapers and TV - leave little doubt that Kerry is the preferred choice across much of the globe. Polls in Germany run as high as 80 percent against Bush.
At the heart of the matter is a belief that in an era of globalization, when American decisions affect hundreds of millions around the globe, the election is not a domestic U.S. issue.
"George Bush or John Kerry? The result will affect us all," ran a teaser on the Dubai-based Arab satellite network Al-Arabiya.
It's regrettable that the elections "will decide the fate of people who cannot vote in it," Joseph Samaha, editor-in-chief of the leftist daily As-Safir, wrote in a Tuesday column.
"Why shouldn't the Italians vote for the elections, too?" said screenwriter Michele Cogo in Rome. "The planet's destiny is decided in large part by America."
On election eve, Monday, Michael Moore's anti-Bush film "Fahrenheit 9/11" competed on prime time German television with "Wag the Dog," about a U.S. president who starts a war to distract from his domestic troubles, and with 24-hour news channel reports on the candidate's final day of campaigning.
Jordanian pharmacist Salma Eissa said she was rooting for Kerry because the Democrats "don't use war to solve the world's problems."
"We saw Bush and we weren't happy with him," she said. "There is no one who likes the war in Iraq. There are other ways to deal with terrorism."
In Sao Paulo, Brazilian cabdriver Wagner Markues, 54, said he too preferred Kerry and wondered why the race was so close.
"We don't understand America now," he said. "Are they getting different news than us about the scandals in the Iraqi prisons and the children and civilians who are getting killed?"
But Bush has his supporters, too. Japan's Junichiro Koizumi and Russia's Vladimir Putin, for instance, have signaled their preference for Bush.
"I don't want to interfere in another country's election, but I'm close to Bush so I'd like him to do well," said Koizumi, who threw in his lot with Bush by sending some 500 Japanese troops to Iraq on a humanitarian mission.
Putin has said a Bush defeat would mean a "new impulse" for terrorism, a clear sign of preference though he's refused to make an explicit endorsement. Bush has toned down criticism of Russia's heavy handed campaign against separatist rebels in Chechnya in return for Putin's support in the war on terror.
In Kuwait, memories are fresh of Bush's father's leadership in reversing Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the Gulf nation.
"We have love and respect for the Bushes," wrote a columnist for Kuwait's Al-Anba daily. "That is why we hope that Bush wins ... we owe him and his father."
Israelis were also watching the election keenly. The three leading Israeli newspapers made U.S. elections their lead stories, topping Yasser Arafat's illness and a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv the day before.
Kory Bardash, chairman of Republicans Abroad and an Orthodox Jew, said he was going to pray for Bush at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest site for Jews.
"It's in God's hands now," he said.
Even politicians who kept the endorsements to themselves had a big stake.
For France and Germany - dubbed "Old Europe" by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - a Kerry White House would mean a chance of mending ties. These nations that refused to help Bush in Iraq may have a problem saying no again if Kerry makes good on his campaign pledge to seek new allies in the war.
Go to Original
A New Direction
The Boston Globe | Editorial
Tuesday 02 November 2004
In an election that presents Americans with an exceptionally stark choice, the Globe has endorsed the presidential candidacy of Senator John Kerry for two overall reasons.
In the years we have known him, Kerry has maintained a worldview informed by an ability to analyze complex problems and seek collaborative solutions. Domestically, on issues from health care to education to the economy, his vision is one of optimism for all Americans. Kerry has demonstrated courage and leadership in pushing for the postwar reconciliation with Vietnam, in strengthening the Clean Air Act and advancing other environmental goals, and in advocating federal budgets that fund important work without burdening the next generation with heavy debts.
President Bush, on the other hand, has badly mishandled the war on terror, both against Al Qaeda and in Iraq, and his domestic policies are usually headed in the wrong direction, when they are headed anywhere at all. The conditions of middle- and lower-income Americans have declined steadily under Bush, who voices no concern. Rather than defend his policies, Bush has spent the closing days of the campaign attempting to limit the number of new voters and tarring Kerry as a high-risk choice. "Don't take a chance," Bush's ads say.
But it is Bush who presents a far greater risk - a risk of four more years of needless and unproductive confrontation at home and abroad. Especially during a time of terrorist threats, it is Kerry whose election would give the nation, and the world, reason for a collective sigh of relief.
Other Contests
The Globe has also endorsed James P. McGovern for reelection to Congress from the Third District, which runs from Worcester to Fall River, citing McGovern's leadership on complex domestic issues and his championing of human rights abroad.
For the state Senate, The Globe has endorsed Marian Walsh of West Roxbury, Therese Murray of Plymouth, Richard R. Tisei of Wakefield, and Pamela P. Resor of Acton.
For the state House of Representatives, The Globe has endorsed Kay Khan of Newton, Martha Marty Walz of Back Bay, Thomas M. Stanley of Waltham, Anne Paulsen of Belmont, Alice Hanlon Peisch of Wellesley, Barbara A. L'Italien of Andover, and Kathleen M. Teahan of Whitman.
Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin and other election officials around the country are predicting a high turnout. With an exceptionally competitive presidential election, an unusually high number of legislative contests in Massachusetts, and the fresh memory of the ultra-close 2000 election, there is every reason to vote.
-------
Jump to TO Features for Wednesday November 3, 2004
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
Print This Story
E-mail This Story