By: Gowhar Geelani
Only a few days back some students from Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's troubled NWFP (North West Frontier Province) — collected some 251 US dollars (their pocket money) for Barack Obama's election campaign, hoping that if the Democrat Senator was elected as America's first black president; he would be able to bring about a positive change in the status quo in their conflict-torn province. One of the female students while praising Obama had said that she was optimistic that Obama will live up to his promises of change. "Instead of dropping bombs and firing missiles in our tribal belt I believe he (Obama) will bring peace to our region," the student had said. 'CHANGE WE NEED,' is Obama's slogan. CHANGE WE (ALL) NEED! The mood for change is dominant in America, the mood for change is dominant in Iraq, the mood for change is dominant in Afghanistan, the mood for change is dominant in pulverized Pakistan, the mood for change is dominant in strife-torn Kashmir, and the mood for change seems to be dominant almost everywhere else in the world. Here in Europe the youngsters seem to have more liking for Obama than his Republican rival and the Vietnam War hero, John McCain. "Well; to us John McCain seems to be no different from George W Bush. We're tired of him and his policies based on ideology, his hate-speech and rhetoric, his policies vis-à-vis Iraq, Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. We want to see a real change and the right approach towards resolving world conflicts, and we believe Obama has in him to deliver the goods!," this is the general argument the young Europeans have. Earlier this year Obama was given a rock star welcome here in the German capital. Thousands assembled in Berlin to see a glimpse of Barack Hussein Obama. The response was no different in Paris, the French capital. With US presidential elections so near, the mood in countries like Slovenia, Croatia, Netherlands, France, and Germany is upbeat, hoping for Obama victory. Majority of the Europeans, Africans and Asians want to see Obama as the next president of the USA. But why Obama? Why not McCain? First, why Obama:Well; different people have different reasons to support Obama. Some girls find Obama 'handsome', some women find him 'gorgeous' and others seriously believe that he has the charisma to bring about a serious change in the geo-politics. In words of a renowned Pakistani television journalist the Indian media is obsessed with three C's: "Crime, Cinema and Cricket." Taking a cue from this letter game, I say Obama's has three strong points; and all of these begin with the letter C. CHARISMA: From Obama's election as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review to winning the nomination for a seat as the US senator from Illinois, and now his race to the White House; Obama has shown charisma all the way through. CONFIDENCE: In the first chapter of his book 'Dreams from My Father', Barack Obama writes: 'My grandfather would shake his head and get out of his chair to flip on the TV set. "Now there's something you can learn from your dad," he would tell me. "Confidence. The secret to a man's success." With his Kenyan past, all personal attacks related to his past and the accusations of being a Muslim and 'sympathetic' towards terrorists, Obama has stood firm as a rock.At least in two of the three television debates he had with his rival McCain, Obama exhibited confidence and calmness. With confidence supported by confident and perennial smile on his face, he seems to believe in his ideas and all what he says.CHANGE: Obama promises change. Be it the current economic crisis at home, the social security taxes, the issue of immigration, or the foreign policies so far as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are concerned, Barack Obama promises a different approach. Now, why not McCain? While Barack Hussein Obama wants an 'honorable' withdrawal from Iraq, his opponent John McCain promises withdrawal only after a 'victory' has been ensured and achieved. People are tired of war in Iraq. Obama is open to hold talks even with the Iranian president, Mehmood Ahmedinijad to resolve the controversial nuclear issue with Tehran, but McCain doesn't want any talks with anyone he believes are 'hardliners'. In the third and last US presidential television debates, John McCain while referring to Obama said: "Yes. Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I'm going to give a new direction to this economy in this country." "I think we all know America is going through tough times right now. The policies of the last eight years and -- and Washington's unwillingness to tackle the tough problems for decades has left us in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression (1930)," Obama said in the debate.The fact remains many people in America; across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia see a reflection of George Bush in John McCain. Perhaps his bad luck, or perhaps not! From Europe to Africa, from Arab world to Asia, the US Democrat senator, Barack Hussein Obama is everywhere; hitting the headlines almost every single day. As the Americans will vote the new president to the White House on 4 th of November, the entire world is keenly watching the US elections, because no matter what; America matters to the entire world. Many analysts and majority of the US opinion polls give African-American senator Barack Obama a small edge over his Republican rival and Vietnam War hero, John McCain, but they are maintaining that the race to the White House is too close to call. The CNN poll of polls shows 53 per cent US voters going Obama's way, 46 per cent of them supporting John Mc Cain, while some voters still undecided. The world is hoping and waiting patiently for a change. Will there be any? Even if Obama makes history by becoming the first African-American (black) president, will there be any change in the world is a million dollar question?
