Obama: Hot or Flip-flop?
Perspektif Online
12 February 2008
A good female (non-American) friend I have not seen in a long time sent me three text messages out of the blue:
Wimar, what is this! I'm pro-hilary!
Despite being the hottest man in modern politics, obama is a pling-plang flip flopper!
:-) everyone has gone obama crazy!
Obama FAQ
by: Wimar Witoelar
Who do you like, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
Both, actually. Anyone other than George W. Bush gives me relief. But the further away from Bush we can get, the better. That is why Obama is better than Clinton and Clinton is better than McCain.
What would be the most important message from an Obama victory?
That the majority of Americans do have common sense after all.
Do you think Obama is a great man?
He is an extremely skilled politician and a polished public speaker. He will be a great man if greatness is thrust upon him by the American people.
Are you excited that someone who lived in Indonesia could be the next US president?
To be honest it gives us quite a thrill. We find it difficult to produce great leaders for ourselves so it will be great to produce a President of the USA. I hope he will invite an Indonesian to his inauguration, and I hope it will be me.
How will Obama be a better US president because of his Indonesian experience?
We are sure he will be conscious of the fact that Indonesia is a place of people, of pluralistic values which no doubt have contributed to Obama's own pluralistic values. He will respect the Indonesian people as much as the Indonesian government.
Do you mind terribly that Obama's Indonesian background is being used against him?
I don't take it personally. It is part of the barrier of exclusivity that President George W. Bush built up since September 11.
What effect do you think Obama's election would have on the US image?
It would immediately improve America's popularity rating. The George W. Bush years will seem like a bad dream. It will reaffirm our faith that America is the land of great people and great ideas.
So how emotional do you get over Obama?
He gives me a nice feeling of hope and world peace. But personally I am more driven my issues which are not in the realm of politics, let alone American elections where I am not a voter. Let Americans get back to their senses and I will accept the results happily. In the meantime, we have plenty of problems around here. Not to mention my own complicated, albeit happy, life. :)
So, dear J, chill out.
Update: Reply from J
WiMAR! you can't put that on the net without asking me my proper views ! I am not keen on Obama because I think the defining tenet of George W Bush's presidency was the devolution of authority to so-called advisors, such as Dick Cheney, who provide incomplete and inaccurate information to the president. For this reason, America is currently staggering towards recession and is waging two failing wars. This is a serious situation not only domestically, but as the world's superpower, it concerns us all.
Obama openly professes that he is a beacon for hope and change and not an expert on the administrational ins and outs of running a highly complex states. He blithely gestures to 'advisors' to assist him. Who are these advisors? How would he know whether they were accurate or not? What are we hoping for? What change is being advocated? None of this is clear to me. This appears to me to be liberal, Democrat version of the popularist pap that Bush espoused to the Christian right. To this long alienated and under-represented community, he was a figure for change and hope. America does not need another figurehead. It needs a workaholic micro-manager who is harder on herself/himself than another other person in government and that is what we will get from Hillary.
Take the example of Iraq, obviously a key policy issue for all of us. Obama has publicly stated that he will and will not withdraw troops. To date, I do not understand Obama's position. Hillary advocates keeping the troops. In her capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has worked hard to educate herself on the national security and she can add that to her other areas of expertise, such as HIV, microcredit, global health, foreign assistance. Education doesn't usually lend itself to radicalism, but centricism and caution which is one of the biggest critiques of Hillary. But, ill-informed change is where Bush has taken us so far and in so doing, given us a non-transparent, bickering and widely corrupt government that has caused great suffering throughout the world and the deaths of over one million Iraqis.
Obama is slick, handsome, charismatic and a breath of fresh air in American politics. I am grateful for the way he has roused the traditionally apathetic American voter and injected some life into what is ordinarily a dull campaign between old white men. This does not mean that he would make the best president.
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