[ See SAJAforum's one-stop shop for sources, resources for covering the 2008 race ]
It's just a few days before the biggest day of the political season thus far: Super Tuesday, the traditional Tuesday each presidential year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections. This year, it's on Tuesday, Feb. 5, when 24 states select delegates for the national conventions (in 2004, it was on March 10 and featured just 10 states). With the departure of a major candidate on each side, the races are now down to John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee among the Republicans; and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on the Democrats.
We are keeping our eyes peeled for any relevant items that concern the South Asian community and would like your help. Please forward items to saja[at]columbia.edu. We hear regularly now from the Clinton, Obama and McCain camps (see sources on our resource page), but not at all from the Romney or Huckabee camps.
In what we hope is the first of many in-depth postings about the race and the South Asian community, we are pleased to showcase an essay each from leading supporters of Clinton and Obama.
The Clinton essay is written by Rajen Anand (a professor and former official in Bill Clinton's administration and a five-time Democratic delegate) and is being circulated via e-mail.
The Obama one is by Preeta Bansal (former Solicitor General of New York State and a special counsel in the Bill Clinton White House; she went to Harvard Law with Obama) and appears in next week's edition of India Abroad. While each is technically aimed at the Indian-American community, the points here are broad enough to apply to the South Asian community and perhaps, other immigrant groups as well.
See each of the essays below. What do you think? Post your comments, please. If any one out there wants to write similar pieces for the Republican candidates (or even these candidates), please e-mail us: saja[at]columbia.edu.
[An aside: Some folks in the press are calling it "Tsunami Tuesday" in reference to the huge wave of major results about to come. Something in the back of my head makes me uneasy about that term, which has gained popularity only this presidential cycle, the first since the Asian/South Asian tsunami of 2004. It seems to be a term that's in bad taste, at the very least, considering almost 300,000 people perished in that tsunami. Am I being too PC? UPDATE: See my expanded post on this and more than a dozen comments, including people who disagree strongly.]
| Hillary is the choice
After seven years of Republican control of the White House, during which we saw an unjustified, unneeded, and unwanted preemptive war waged against a sovereign country, costing us, so far, half a Trillion dollars, loss of almost 4000 American lives, more than 700,000 Iraqi citizens, leaving over 4 million refugees and tarnishing the image of America all over the Globe, the voters are yearning for change. Over 70% of the people in this country are dissatisfied with the current conditions, with rapidly increasing price of the gasoline costing more than three dollars per gallon, foreclosing homes at the largest rate than ever, climbing healthcare cost, leaving 47 million people without health insurance, and making education unaffordable and increasing rate of poverty. Recently, oil hit $100 a barrel and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy lost jobs in the private sector in December for the first time in over four years. More than 201,000 foreclosure filings were reported in November alone, up 68 percent from the year before. Tens of thousands of families have already lost their homes due to these foreclosures. Virtually every candidate running for president this year is promising a change and the change will definitely come next January when a new person occupies the White House. The questions voters should ask what the nature of change will be. Will the conditions for a common citizen improve or not? Will we be better off than what we have been in the past seven years? Will there be bright light at the end of this misery tunnel? Change as a slogan sounds very good. It inspires people with hope and faith in their future. But people are not looking for ANY change. They are looking for a new course for the United States that lead her to have peace in the world and prosperity at home. If any of the five leading Republican candidates succeeds as president, the chances are that we are going see the escalation of war in Iraq and continuation of the failed policies of the current Administration. John McCain has recently said we might be in Iraq for the next hundred years. Hundred years for what? Except for Ron Paul who has a little chance to become president, all other Republican candidates are in tune with the current occupant of the White House. They are not likely to bring about any change of direction for the country beneficial to people, no matter how loudly they shout the word change. On the Democratic side, we have three brilliant candidates who are all promising a change in the country. Any one of them will be better than the Republican candidates. All the national polls indicate that this is the year when Democrats are likely to take over the government. However, we must ask ourselves, whether the next president will be able to bring about the kind of change voters are yearning for. Who should get the support of the Indian American community? Many of us have said that we do not tend to support any candidate per se. We actually support our convictions and our beliefs. We look for a candidate who has most in common with our convictions and will carry out the policies that will make America great and will make us proud of the candidate. Considering these factors, I believe that Hillary Clinton will be best choice for president of the United States. Here are my reasons. Hillary Clinton will give a boost to the economy. Some of us still remember the good old days of Bill Clinton Administration that created 22 million new jobs, reduced mortgage interests, eliminated the bureaucratic red tape, took people off the welfare and put them to work and left a huge budget surplus. Hillary Clinton is likely to restore those policies that brought prosperity in the life of common citizens. She will end the mortgage crisis due to sub prime interest crisis. She will provide assistance to states and cities in order to mitigate the effects of mounting foreclosures. Senator Clinton believes we need a strong immediate stimulus to jumpstart the economy without negatively affecting our long-term fiscal position. In her opinion, stimulus measures should be targeted toward hardworking families that are most likely to spend new resources, which will ensure that we give our economy an immediate boost. She is the only candidate with a comprehensive plan to keep families in their homes and keep the housing crisis from dragging down the economy. Hillary Clinton says she will provide affordable health insurance that will be available to any citizen and will be portable if one changes her/his job. It will offer a choice to millions of Americans to pick an insurance plan that meets the needs of the family and will permit those who are satisfied with their current plan to keep it. No one will remain un-insured under Hillary Clinton’s health care reforms. Hillary Clinton has indicated in no uncertain terms that she will end the war in Iraq soon after she takes over the government. Hillary's roadmap out of Iraq is a plan to end the war before the next president takes the oath of office. But if the Bush administration won't end the war, the new commander in chief, Hillary Clinton, will. She will immediately start the withdrawal of troops in a responsible fashion and end the combat mission and the occupation by the United States. This will not only end the misery of American people, it will free up funds for domestic policy use. Hillary Clinton has a plan to end our dependence on foreign oil. Hillary has proposed an Apollo Project-like program dedicated to achieving energy independence. During the current Administration the price of oil has tripled, with no end of increasing price in sight. As president, Hillary will invest in finding alternate form of energy and will ask Americans to cut down their use of energy by increasing the efficiency of automobiles and other appliances using energy. She says, “the choices we make about energy touch nearly every aspect of our lives. Our economy, our national security, our health, and the future of our planet are all at stake as we make a choice between energy independence and dependence on foreign sources of oil.” Hillary has long been a passionate advocate for providing greater educational opportunities to all children. She knows that parents are our children's first teachers, and the early years have a tremendous impact on their lives. She also knows that we have to improve our K-12 system in order to ensure that every child is prepared to compete, and she has proposed to make college affordable for all. Her plan will offer a fair and equitable chance for all Americans to receive higher education at an affordable cost and no one will be left behind. America is ready for a president who fights for our children. From her first job out of law school at the Children's Defense Fund to her time as First Lady of Arkansas and of the United States to her service in the Senate, helping children has been at the center of Hillary's public life. The policy of unilateral actions of the current occupant of the White House has alienated virtually everyone in the world. Today the respect for America is at the lowest point. The next president's most urgent task will be to restore America's standing in the world to promote our interests, ensure our security, and advance our values. America is stronger when we lead the world through alliances. As president, Hillary will lead by the words of the Declaration of Independence, which pledged "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind." Hillary's historic statement in 1995 that "women's rights are human rights" still echoes worldwide. As a lawyer, advocate, First Lady, and senator, Hillary has fought for issues important to women here at home and around the world for decades. Hillary will continue her lifelong fight to ensure that all Americans are treated with respect and dignity. Hillary said the other day, “Americans are ready for a government that puts competency ahead of cronyism. For the past seven years, we've had an administration that has contempt for government. And because they view it with contempt, they treat it with contempt. We need a return to transparency and a system of checks and balances, and a 21st century government to meet our 21st century challenges.” Hillary has indicated that fair and honest elections are the bedrock of a successful democracy. Yet we have seen abuses in national elections since 2000 that have undermined our democracy and Americans' faith in our electoral system. America has been sending observers to monitor elections in the third world countries, but the elections of 2000 clearly proved that America needs a change in its electoral process. Hillary is a leading champion of election reform. She has introduced the Count Every Vote Act to avoid repeating the problems of the past and ensure the integrity of our elections. America has been described as the country of immigrants. People have come to these shores from all corners of the world. By their intellect, entrepreneurship, education and hard work, they have tremendously contributed to the success of American society in all spheres. And yet, our immigration system is in crisis. The laws we currently have on the books are inadequate and no longer serve our best interests. As a nation, we place a premium on compassion, respect, and policies that help families, but our immigration laws don't reflect that. Hillary has consistently called for comprehensive immigration reform that respects our immigrant heritage and honors the rule of law. Her immigration reforms will respect the family re-unification provisions, important to recent immigrants. Finally, Indian Americans have special affinity for Hillary Clinton. No other candidate has raised more money from the Indian America community than Hillary Clinton. More Americans who trace their roots to India are working for Hillary Clinton. Her chief policy advisor is an Indian American, Neera Tanden, her constant companion during her travels is Huma Abedin, a daughter of an Indian father, and score of other Indian Americans are supporting her candidacy throughout the nation. She has close ties with many Indian Americans, such as Sant Singh Chatwal, Mike Patel and Bal Das. Bill Clinton appointed more Indians at higher positions than any president before him. He said his administration would look like America with the ethnic diversity. Hillary Clinton is likely to follow the same principle. She will select the best and brightest people for her Administration, no matter what the color of their skin or the shape their eyes is. WHAT DO YOU THINK? POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW. |
The Democrats' Choice: Barack Obama By PREETA D. BANSAL Preeta Bansal, former Solicitor General of the State of New York, is a partner at a leading Wall Street law firm in New York and a Commissioner and Past Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan federal agency. She previously served as a special counsel in the Clinton White House and Justice Department and was a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. [The following op-ed will appear in the coming edition of India Abroad. I hope you'll consider encouraging friends and family to vote on February 5.] This is a Presidential race like no other. On the Democratic side, we have the choice of exceptional candidates: intelligent public servants who are passionate in their commitments to a strong and inclusive America. But we have neither the luxury nor constraint of making our choice this time based purely on policy differences, because the Democratic candidates have laid out detailed plans and prescriptions that are largely similar. So instead, in this election, other qualities – especially a candidate’s character and ability to unite Americans of all persuasions around common policy goals – play a larger role than usual. Indeed, we are offered, for the first time in many decades, the choice of a candidate of extraordinary character, leadership, judgment, integrity, and inspiration – a combination and range of qualities that is rare to find in someone operating at the highest political levels. And so we can make our choice in this election based on a rare convergence of both our minds and our hearts. Barack Obama is the right man for the Presidency, and his time is now. He has been a phenomenon for more than 20 years, when I first encountered him at Harvard Law School. But he is not the kind of flash-in-the-pan phenomenon that some of his rivals had been hoping for and expecting. He is the real thing. I worked in the Clinton White House and Administration, and was very proud to do so. But I left Washington for New York after the first term in 1996 because I came to feel that it would be easy within our nation’s capital to become a “moon” – one who basks in the reflected light of others and feels important because one is in an important position, around important people, or dealing with important issues. I felt that it was hard (and rare), hanging around the Beltway, to become a “sun” who had discovered and cultivated the inner light within oneself, and who came to Washington having something truly unique and creative to offer and wanting to extend that light outward to others. Now, twelve years later, I can truly say that we have the option of electing a sun, and he is Barack Obama. Much has been said about Senator Obama’s extraordinary gifts of oratory and inspiration. But less has been said about the inner strengths and qualities that are manifested in his outer sheen. Unlike his rival, who “found [her] own voice” just a few weeks ago in the snows of New Hampshire, Barack has lived his life of service from the inside out. He knows who he is, and has a moral compass that will guide him and our nation well. He pursues politics not as an end or as an art form in itself, but as a necessary means to achieve higher ends. He understands that the Presidency is not simply about being battle-tested and ready to take on old opponents from day one, but is also about having the self-awareness and reach to achieve results by inspiring new participants and creating new majorities and alliances. And so this campaign for the Presidency is not – as he frequently says in his public appearances – about him; it is about us. It is not a vehicle for him to find his voice; it is a catalyst for inspiring Americans to overcome our doubts and fears to express our collective voice. He talks not about what “I will do for you,” but about what “we will achieve together.” He will help all of us, together, usher in a whole new era of politics, one in which we can truly be inspired to reclaim our sense of active, empowered citizenship. In a world that has experienced too often the failures and dangers of top-down political structures, the prospect of revitalizing American democracy through active, common-sense citizen involvement from the bottom up, is the change we need to see in the world. We hear much about candidates’ relative experience and inexperience in terms only of their years in Washington or in politics. But we hear little of candidates’ life experiences outside of politics, or the grit and stamina and grace they may have displayed in getting to where they are from where they came. More than any other major figure on the American political scene, Senator Obama’s political outlook is shaped by truly having been a citizen of the world. He was born to a black Kenyan father, and a white mother from Kansas. A self-made man, he was raised by his single mother and maternal grandparents in an environment without many material advantages. His paternal African grandmother still lives in a Kenyan hut without running water and electricity. Raised in the multicultural environments of Hawaii and Indonesia, Senator Obama can passionately engage with, actively listen to and respectfully speak with people of all backgrounds and faiths. Senator Obama is a man of faith, but an inclusive sense of faith – a faith that tempers his great intellect with humility, not a faith that aims to cover up a lack of intellect with false certitude. His office displays a portrait of Gandhi, and he is moved by theologians such as Reinhold Niebuhr, who coincidentally expressed my favorite sentiment ever: that power without love is brutality, but love without power is mere sentimentality. As someone who travels the world as a U.S. diplomat, including to many predominantly Muslim countries, I can attest just how critical Senator Obama’s unique life experience is in formulating and projecting a forceful but intelligent American foreign policy that above all protects America but also commands the respect of the world. As one noted commentator wrote recently, even apart from his articulated policies for enhancing America’s standing in the world, his mere election to the Presidency would lead to an immediate “rebranding” of America and increase immeasurably our “soft power” in the world. The Senator’s unique life experience, combined with his correct and consistent judgment about the Iraq war from the beginning, hearken back to another great leader who was challenged as having a “thin” resume because he had served in the Illinois state legislature, practiced law, and returned to politics to serve only one term as a representative in Congress before deciding to run for President. That leader, of course, was Abraham Lincoln. But after making a name for himself in the presidential campaign by exhibiting the courage to speak out against the deeply accepted practice of slavery, Lincoln was able, as president, to take the side of the nation’s better angels and to change the course of American history. In contrast to many of his opponents, who have built their lives and ambitions in Beltway politics, Senator Obama is not someone who approaches politics as an end. He is a true public servant who, despite dazzling intellectual achievements – including being President of the Harvard Law Review and at the very top of his class at Harvard Law School – gave up every lucrative and prestigious opportunity to go back to Chicago where he had been a community organizer for many years. Yet while rooted in the experience of organizing working class communities in Chicago – and while personally and deeply aware of conditions of global poverty – he has the intelligence and judgment to speak comfortably with leaders in London, Mumbai, Brussels or Wall Street about economic theory and foreign policy. Senator Obama – through the multitude of his life experiences and the calm, respectful style of his leadership – is someone who naturally and instinctively bridges so many divides. He connects and brings together the global background of his youth with the local communities he organized as an adult; the ordinary experiences of working class people in America and globally with the perspectives of highly educated academics, policymakers and professionals; the blue states of Democrats with the red states from which his mother and grandparents came. Because governing and tackling the major challenges facing our nation these days require more than a bare majority of support, it is essential that we elect someone who in style and substance is able and willing to reach out beyond the traditional Democratic “base”, and who can inspire large numbers of American citizens to transcend the often-bitter attempts in our politics to divide us. Let me add, finally, that there is sometimes an attempt to perceive or create divisions between immigrants and African Americans. But we are all beneficiaries of the struggles to overcome this nation’s racial injustices. The very reason for our presence in this country is the 1965 Immigration Act, which eliminated the last remaining formal color line in the US laws – the exclusion of Asians that appeared in the immigration laws since the late 1800s. Those legal hurdles came down following the successes of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. So as we try to work to clean up America’s image and policy toward the world and its policies at home, I can think of no better leader than Senator Obama, who – in part because of who he is and where he came from, but also because of what he believes and what he has accomplished – would give America a whole new fresh chance. He truly believes in Gandhi’s approach that we must lead by the example of our ideals and our actions – including by fostering economic opportunity for each individual, and by respecting pluralism and restoring the rule of law at home and abroad. His light has a transformative potential at this critical juncture in our nation’s and our world’s affairs. He has the character, intellect, judgment, experience, integrity, and leadership to lead our nation well. WHAT DO YOU THINK? POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.
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