Electable John Kerry?<\/p>\n
The string of primaries conducted by the Democratic Party in
\nthe United States leading toward the election of the party's
\npresidential candidate to confront the Republican George Bush in
\nthe presidential election on Nov.4, is of course a purely
\ndomestic American affair. However, given the imperial role of the
\nUnited States as an overwhelming global power with a very
\nassertive foreign policy, a great number of people in many
\ncountries around the world, including Indonesia, are following
\nthe idiosyncrasies of American politics with increasing interest.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, as a result of primaries and caucuses in nine
\nstates, John Forbes Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts,
\nis emerging as the possible presidential candidate of the
\nDemocratic Party. Particularly, his achievement in winning the
\nMissouri primary -- in which 74 delegates to the party's
\nconvention in Boston next summer were also present -- has
\npersuaded many observers that this new JFK, indeed has a serious
\nchance of becoming the party's presidential candidate for the
\nNov.4 election.<\/p>\n
Of course, Sen. Kerry still has a long way to go. He must
\ncapture the support of at least 2,162 delegates, while so far he
\nhas won over only a little more than 200 delegates. The important
\npoint, however, is that John Kerry -- as compared to Vermont's
\nformer governor Howard Dean, South Carolina's Sen. John Edwards
\nand Gen. Wesley Clark -- has gained the perception that he is the
\none candidate who could beat President George Bush Jr.
\nThe exit polls conducted by the Associated Press during the
\nprimaries last Tuesday revealed not only the increasing stature
\nof John Kerry as a public figure, but, and more important
\nperhaps, the deep dislike that exists toward President George
\nBush. Political programs expounded by candidates are not
\nconsidered that important anymore. The Democratic primaries
\nreveal that the party's voters simply want a candidate who could
\nbeat George Bush.<\/p>\n
It seems that Sen. John Kerry, in a speech in Seattle where he
\nwas preparing himself for the party's caucuses in Washington
\nState this weekend, encapsulated what an increasing number of
\nAmericans think of President Bush's global policies. He said
\nthat: \"George Bush has made America weaker by overextending the
\narmed forces of the United States, straining our reserves,
\ndriving away our allies and running the most arrogant, reckless,
\ninept and ideological foreign policy in the modern history of our
\ncountry.\"<\/p>\n
Rhetoric of campaign speeches aside, the large part of that
\nquote most probably succinctly reflects the feelings and opinions
\nof a great number of America's friends around the world. A
\nrecently published book, \"America Unbound -- the Bush Revolution
\nin Foreign Policy,\" written by two perceptive students of U.S.
\nforeign policy (the Brookings Institution's Ivo Daalder and James
\nM. Lindsay of the Council of Foreign Relations), takes an in
\ndepth look into the Bush administration's assertive foreign
\npolicy. The study concludes that \"the deeper problem was that the
\nfundamental premise of the Bush (foreign policy) revolution --
\nthat America's security rested on America Unbound -- was
\nmistaken.\"<\/p>\n
Whether George Walker Bush Jr. will remain as president next
\nyear or whether Sen. John Kerry will move from the Hill into the
\nWhite House will be decided in the presidential election on Nov.
\n4. However, we cannot help but notice that suddenly President
\nBush does not look that invincible anymore. He has agreed to set
\nup a bipartisan commission to examine the possible overhaul of
\nthe United States' intelligence operations. The inquiry would
\nalso include a study of the misjudgments about Iraq's perceived
\nweapons of mass destruction, the existence of which the president
\nwas so sure about. Television viewers around the globe also
\nobserved from President Bush's body language in welcoming the
\nUN's Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, at the White House, a
\npoliteness that was absent a few months ago in Washington's
\nstatements about the world organization.<\/p>\n
Of course, the Bush administration now desperately needs the
\nUN to release the U.S. from its Iraq quagmire before the
\npresidential election commences this summer. All in all, we will
\nfollow with great interest the further developments of American
\npolitics since the outcome of the Nov.4 presidential election
\nwill assuredly have an impact on the geopolitical position of
\nmany countries around the world, including Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/electable-john-kerry-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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