Wednesday 20 January 2016

Election year across the pond.

Listening this morning to the shrill cries of Sarah Palin in support of Donald Trump I reflected on the next few months of watching the American hustings.
It all used to be a total mystery to me...but it's much clearer now.....I think!
The two parties have first to find their candidates. Each party has several candidates to chose from and watching them eliminate the candidates one by one is totally fascinating now where in the past it used to be a mystery.
The reason I am  fairly au fait with the process is due directly to watching a television series.
The West Wing has made the whole process much clearer for me now!
There are still some puzzles to get my head around but the bigger picture is  in place....and this is going to make the months between now and the election much later in the year more interesting than it used to be.
The irony of watching a television program devoted to the Democratic Party and its various fictional characters and situations has meant that I now roughly know what's going on and can make sense of the present hysteria!
Another of Aaron Sorkins shows "The News Room " has also helped this rough understanding.
My American friends are probably horrified by the way a light has been shone on the whole election process but it does mean that I can enjoy the next months of jockeying for position. This style of electioneering is very strange to us conservative Brits but it is also very entertaining even whilst reflecting on decisions that will affect the whole world.
More power to their elbows as they sort out who faces who in due course..
It would be impertinent of me to declare any favourites....but I am enjoying the preliminary rounds enormously.


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5 comments:

Unknown said...

I do hope that the Republican Party, especially Trump and his followers end up Palin into insignificance.

The extreme bigotry they display is horrifying.

Unknown said...

I do hope that the Republican Party, especially Trump and his followers end up Palin into insignificance.

The extreme bigotry they display is horrifying.

Revjeanrolt said...

I agree....

Ray Barnes said...

I share your hope but without much optimism.

UKViewer said...

The issue for the USA is very much like our last general election - will the polls get it right or wrong?

I suspect that I'm a democrat supporter at heart, as they lean towards my liberal persuasions - but like any political party, they have a wide spectrum from soft, anything goes liberal - to some who might be viewed as Republican inserts.

The worrying thing about Mr Trump is his warlike talk of letting 'our Warriors kick Ass', a return to the Bush years, or worse. We don't need another world war anytime soon. Pairing up with Sarah Palin is even more worrying. It looks increasingly likely to me that Mr Trump will get the Republican nomination - and after that, all bets are off.

I'd rather that the USA concentrated on it's internal issues, particularly the split between the WASP elite and the rest. Not a lot different from our own issues here in the UK, where we're struggling to absorb new citizens from across the planet.