The Circus Has Come to Town
“If you’re born in this world, you’re given a ticket to the freak show. If you’re born in America, you’re given a front-row seat” - George Carlin
Who’d have thought US politics would be so like Philippine politics but with pimped out campaigns and more credible candidates. The drama, the mudslinging, and the media circus … just the same.
The current president is looking more and more like a clown that people laugh at whenever he opens his mouth. Has President Bush become irrelevant. Not quite. At least not to pundits who make money of his missteps.
The Iowa caucus just wrapped up and [surprise?!] Barrack Obama came in first, John Edwards second and Hillary third. Well, at least John Edwards is consistently 2nd. So close but not quite. On the Republican side, a lot of people are hearting Huckabees right now, he got top votes from caucus goers.
I wouldn’t even begin to try and understand the whole American voting system, it’s mind boggling. I mean, Al Gore won the popular vote but Bush won the presidency. At least back in ‘Pinas, winning just involves a teacher and a ballot box.
Obama is riding high on promises of change. Huckabee, on evangelical votes. This round went to the upstarts. Come to think of it, Barrack Obama started the mudslinging two weeks before Hillary and unfortunately for Hillary, Obama managed to bury that fact with his oratorical charm.
CNN and other syndicated network news has been milking this election to death and we’re lapping it all up. Yep, Ringling Bros made loads of money too, parading dancing monkeys. trapeze artists and gilded elephants to keep the crowd coming for more.
Would have wanted Ron Paul to make a large showing in Iowa, if only because his campaign is a true blue grassroot effort. For an aging guy, he’s proving to be quite a rock star the way he’s raised money through the internet and spread his message through viral marketing [hooray for YouTube!].
Guilani is not even wasting time or money in Iowa. They actually have values there you know. He’d do better in other swing states.
Then again, do I really care who the candidates are? Unfortunately, the US is still oh-so-relevant in the world stage and jsut about 99% of Filipinos want to visit Uncle Sam. So yes I do. But I’m still determined to learn Chinese.
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