Saudi Arabia and India agree to study feasibility of establishing power grid    Saudi Awwal Bank records SR5.9 billion net profit after Zakat and Income Tax for YTD Q3    Economy minister emphasizes global partnerships to address pressing challenges Private investments in non-oil sector soar 70%    Saudi Arabia's GDP grows 2.8% in Q3, driven by non-oil sectors    PIF, HKMA sign MoU to establish $1 billion investment fund    Israeli soldiers forced Palestinian men to take off clothes as they evacuated war-torn Jabalya    North Korea fires suspected intercontinental missile    India celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights    'It was like a tsunami': Spaniards recount horror of deadly floods    Bahrain Crown Prince receives Saudi Interior Minister    In-person classes will remain suspended in Jeddah, Rabigh and Khulais schools on Thursday    HR Ministry takes penal action against 568 violators of Domestic Workers' Regulation    Derby Week makes its debut in the Roshn Saudi League    Al Nassr eliminated from King's Cup after a defeat to Al Taawoun    Teri Garr, Young Frankenstein and Tootsie star, dies at 79    Othman Al Omeir receives Legacy of Change Medal at the UK Parliament for advocacy in media    Neymar joins Saudi fashion trend, donning traditional attire at Al Hilal match    Indonesia Days event celebrates cultural diversity at Al Suwaidi Park    Saudi Football Federation reappoints Hervé Renard to lead national team    Tarzan star Ron Ely dies aged 86    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







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Ayoon Wa Azan (Good Fortune Has Returned To Barack Obama)
Published in AL HAYAT on 09 - 06 - 2011

17 months separate us from the U.S. presidential elections, those of the House of Representatives, as well as a third of the Senate's seats. However, elections in America are an industry, and they never stop, not even for a day. Since there are elections every two years (in the midterm elections, all seats in the House are up for grabs, as well as a third of the Senate's seats), the voting day is barely over when work begins for the next one.
The U.S. elections take place on the first Tuesday of November, and so will be held on 06/11 next year. The competition among the Republican aspirants to the White House has intensified. Last month, I had written my first article about the upcoming elections, which I concluded by saying “and I will no doubt return to this subject in the future”.
Indeed, I am returning today to this subject, much earlier than I anticipated, because of recent development and changes.
I had already said that good fortune has returned to Barack Obama, as the killing of Osama bin Laden boosted his popularity greatly in every single public opinion poll, while there are indications that the economy has improved following the crisis of 2008, further benefiting the president. However, this month had barely started and people began to forget the killing of al-Qaeda's leader, and newly released figures showed that the economy's ability to create new jobs has slumped, compared to the previous few months, when a marked increase in the number of new jobs was recorded.
Perhaps the Arab reader will be shocked if I say that people, especially Americans, think with their pockets, and that the 'Cause', the Arab uprisings, China and other issues, are all together combined less important than the state of the country's economy. We have an example that the readers know about this. In his singular term after 1988, George Bush led an international alliance that liberated Kuwait, and during his tenure, the communist bloc collapsed after a Cold War that lasted 70 years. However, the Governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton, from the second poorest state in the country, came to lead a campaign with the slogan of "It's the economy, stupid". He was chosen by the Americans as President, while bearing in mind that the economy had begun to improve in Bush's last year in office, and even Clinton himself admitted that after he won.
Today, I do not know what the U.S. economy will be like in 17 months, or which Republican will be Obama's rival. I do not have a crystal ball, and I do not want to rely on intuition, since we have seen how George W. Bush's intuition ended up with America losing all its wars and having its economy fatally wounded.
What I know is that Obama will win if the economy is doing well, or if the Republicans choose an unfit presidential candidate, and there indeed are many such candidates in the arena today.
Since I wrote my previous article about the upcoming elections, Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana who is of Syrian extraction, declared that he will not run in the battle for the Republican nomination, at the request of his wife and four daughters, who have a veto right as he said. Perhaps this was true, and perhaps the reason is because he and his wife Cheri had divorced. She married another, got divorced, and then remarried him, and maybe he does not want to have all this come out in the open again. Or perhaps the reason is that he passed many right-wing laws, including one that denied many women healthcare benefits, and turned a significant proportion of the electorate against him.
Other proposed names include Haley Barbour, the Governor of Mississippi, who refused to run in the elections, and said that he does not feel ‘fire in his gut' to pursue the post of President. Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, also withdrew, preferring to keep his television show on the Fox Network.
Today, I note down the names of some candidates who chose to run in the elections, and others whose names were proposed. I intend to elaborate with more detail tomorrow.
The most popular candidate is Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts. There are many former governors in the arena. There is Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah, and also a former ambassador to China. Besides, there is Rick Santorum, former Governor of Pennsylvania, as well as Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota, and Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, who ran in the McCain campaign. There are also Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, Rep. Ron Paul, and Rep. Michele Bachmann.
I shall continue tomorrow.
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