When the competition is between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, or between the two parties' most important figures, namely, Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, there should really be no contest. The number of Democratic Party members is many times that of the Republican Party, while Obama is a dozen times smarter and more skilled than Palin. There is an almost universal consensus that the Democrats will lose their majority in the midterm elections that will take place today, and that Obama has become an obstacle in his party's march, even when only two years ago, he was the most important factor in bringing about the Democratic control of both houses of Congress. All polls show that a majority of Americans do not approve of Obama, with 55 percent not approving of his policies in general, compared to 45 percent in favor of them, while 56 percent oppose his economic policies, 58 percent the federal budget, and 48 percent oppose the healthcare plan vs. 47 percent who are in favor of it. The problem in the midterm elections is that it almost always is a referendum on the President's performance, especially so when it is the latter's party that controls both the House and the Senate today. Personally, I agree with the many polls that suggest the Democrats will retain a majority in the Senate, but express my reservations on those that predicted that the Republications will most likely win a majority in the House of Representatives. Today will hardly be over when the results will have been made known, and therefore, I do not want to risk expressing an opinion. The midterm elections will be over a third of the seats of the Senate and all the seats of the House, in addition to the posts of state governors and other posts. The Senate consists of one hundred seats (59 for the Democrats and 41 for the Republicans at present). With 37 seats up for grabs this time, the likelihood that a Democratic majority in the Senate will survive sounds logical, as the Republicans would otherwise have to snatch ten seats from the Democrats to secure a simple majority of 51 seats. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is comprised of 435 seats (255 for the Democrats, 178 for the Republicans, and two vacant seats). Since all the seats in the House are up for grabs, the Republicans would need to snatch 35 seats from the Democrats to win a simple majority (218 seats), and that is not too difficult. If the Democrats lose, then I will blame President Obama before anyone else, because it seems like he “deflated” following the presidential elections. His boisterous speeches, smart slogans and enthusiasm have all but vanished, to the point that the President cannot even convince the Americans that their problems, from America's losing foreign incursions to an economy in recession and with nearly ten percent of Americans unemployed, are all part of the legacy of George W. Bush and the right-wing gang that ruled the country with the former ignorant president as their front. But perhaps the rest of the world is aware of this, since Obama's popularity all around the world, especially in Europe, is still high. Obama has also restored much of the reputation of his country. However, it is not foreigners who will vote in the United States, and hence, Obama finds himself today, somehow, being blamed for the mistakes and sins of the Bush administration. I had once written that President Obama appears as though he is without emotions, as he is provoked by nothing. He is extremely intelligent; however, he acts like a robot and does not seem to communicate much with the people, or try to come down to their level of understanding. But I was afterwards surprised to read similar views expressed by American commentators who know their president more than I do. Obama is highly cultivated, a law professor and a skilled orator, and Sarah Palin is ignorant, inexperienced and impulsive. But it is for this reason that she represents American voters more than Obama does. In such a situation, I find it alarming that in the world's most powerful country, in terms of its economy, military and influence, the Tea Party is the one poised to gain most in the elections. This is despite the fact that its candidates include someone who once wore a Nazi uniform, defended another candidate who is linked to criminal biker gangs, and said that overthrowing the government by force is still on the table (I believe that Ryan Rudominer, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was talking about Stephen Borden, the Republication candidate for the House of Representatives in Texas, who defended another Republican candidate, Allen West. West was expelled from the army for his ties with a biker gang). What is more serious than the above is the fact that Sarah Palin the ignorant, and Newt Gingrich, the right-wing racist whose name has been linked to sexual scandals when he was the Speaker of the House, are both among those who will possibly run for president in two years. However, I personally still believe that the Republican candidate for president in 2012 will be someone like Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, or Mike Huckabee, the former government of Arkansas. I would personally choose Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana, because of his Syrian origin. And herein lies the crux of the matter. The midterm elections today will be a strong indicator of the future, and of whether Obama will be a one-term president. [email protected]
