By Philippe Remarque

Traditional stereotyping is being pushed to the side: Obama stands for a “post-racial“ generation that has left discrimination behind. And Republicans have launched a feminist icon with their working anti-abortion-mother Palin.

Translated By Dorian de Wind

September 13, 2008


The Netherlands - De Telegraaf - Original Article (Dutch)

With 52 days to go until the elections, the question at hand is whether the U.S. will change tack.

Is this presidential election any different? Or are the Americans again fighting the same old battle? Anyone who travels around the U.S. will find evidence supporting both statements.

At a first glance, the country is sharply divided, as it has been for years during every election. There is Obama’s America and McCain’s America. “Something has to change, it is make-or-break,” says the Obama activist from California. “I want our soldiers to come home with their heads held high and their mission accomplished,” says the woman in Zanesville, Ohio, though she stands by the grave of her son who was killed in action.

You have the unbridled growth of McCain's Phoenix suburbs, where, where “America’s Toughest Sheriff” is held in high esteem. And then you have the city culture of Democratic Chicago, where everyone is proud of local neighbor Obama.

Obama was previously a community worker, fresh out of Harvard. “But in the United States, one does not win elections with that,” they say there. Perhaps it is the same with McCain‘s POW experience in Vietnam, where he really learned to love America. It is thus really hawk against dove, right against left, red against blue, anti-abortion against liberalism.

The battle for the presidency has already descended to a familiar level. Obama wants to give your toddlers sex education! McCain is in the pocket of lobbyists!

Still, there are many signs that this time it is different. Eighty percent of Americans feel that the country is heading in the wrong direction. In Zanesville, they no longer stand together behind the war. During the Bush years, the breakthrough made is that America’s power is limited and that its economy and energy supply are in crisis.

Both parties have nominated unlikely candidates, who want to bring an end to the polarization in Washington and to the influence of big money. Obama shows understanding towards opponents of abortion. McCain wants to have Democrats in his cabinet. The campaign also reflects a changed America. The influence of citizens, united by the Internet, has never been greater.

Traditional stereotyping is being pushed to the side: Obama stands for a “post-racial“ generation that has left discrimination behind. And Republicans have launched a feminist icon with their working anti-abortion-mother Palin.

There are sufficient signs to believe that it is possible that America will take a step forward with the next president.