America Divided in Its Elections

Every time the presidential elections run in America, it is commonly said: “There’s no difference worth mentioning between one president and the next. American policy is unified, and the institutions are what make decisions and policies. So, it’s not important if a Democrat or Republican is next.”

This adage does not apply to the current electoral battle, as America is divided against itself as never before. The presidential debates indicate that the two candidates don’t agree on a single thing, and the American people themselves are divided along racial, societal, and economic bases. Public opinion polls point-out that two-thirds of whites will choose Romney, and that three-fourths of blacks will choose Obama; this also applies to Hispanics, the majority of whom stand with Obama.

On a social level, the poor support Obama while the rich are with Romney. It’s natural that senior citizens and the retired tend toward the Democratic Party, which supports state sanctions of their benefits and rights. In foreign policy, Obama wants a focus on “soft-power,” diplomatic machinations and economic sanctions, while Romney wants a reliance on the armed forces.

In monetary policy, Romney wants a smaller government to be more frugal with all types of general expenditure with the exception of military, and a reduction in taxes on the rich and businesses. Obama wants the state to undertake the realization of social justice and to burden those who are capable with a larger share in funding the public treasury. Obama also wants to reduce the budget deficit by increasing taxes on business and the wealthy, and Romney wants to do so through canceling social programs that benefit minorities, the poor, unemployed and the sick – [all of] whom Romney considers to be dependent upon the state.

It would be an overstatement to accuse Obama of being a socialist, just as it would be to accuse Romney of being a Nazi – these are false accusations, but they have an undeniable significance.

For Arabs, widespread hopes were hung upon Obama at the beginning of his term, especially after his famous address at Cairo University. However, Obama has not been able to keep his pledges, which has caused great disappointment. Despite this, he remains better than his opponent, who does the bidding of Netanyahu in serving Israel and claims Palestinians don’t want peace. Arab-Americans vote as individuals, and they too are divided between the Democratic and Republican parties. The position of each candidate on the Palestinian issue is one of the most important factors that sway the voter to one candidate or the other. Naturally, this time, Obama should be the first choice.