the view of the people can be manipulated - 8/10/08

From Buck on October 8th, 2008

Pretty interesting to me. I think it is a trend that might spread...

A trend of countries using similar currencies to strengthen political ties? It even says in the article that the motivation is not that they think the U.S. dollar is weak (in fact it's actually been continuing to get stronger against foreign currencies throughout the financial crisis) and that they think the U.S. dollar is still more stable than their own. It's just as a way to strengthen political ties.

I agree about Obama having a better impact on foreign perception. However, I believe that that kind of thing can be fleeting.

It'll last a few months, maybe a year, and that's about it since Obama probably won't take a radically new direction. Also since I believe McCain would be very strong in foreign policy, and would rely much more on diplomacy than Bush and more than what Obama and his supporters would lead you to believe.

You say you have a problem with the foreign policy of the U.S. If you haven't yet, you really should read that article I sent you from the Australian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24467159-5013460,00.html) But here's the quote that pertains to how you think Obama will be better for foreign policy:

"Obama is, formally at least, now terrifically hawkish on the use of force. Iran must not be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. No military option will be taken off the table. The UN cannot have veto power over US action. He will support Israel, one of America's closest allies in the world. He will attack in Pakistan if there is solid evidence of the presence of an important terrorist. Hunting down and destroying al-Qa'ida must be America's No.1 national security priority. Every time genocide or ethnic cleansing occurs and the US doesn't intervene militarily, it is diminished.Good grief. If George W. Bush were still saying things like that there would be a warrant issued for his arrest at The Hague. In response to Obama's alpha-dog swagger on national security, McCain read him a little lecture on the limits of US power and the need to intervene only when it can clearly do some good. Presumably Obama wanted to look tougher and McCain less threatening."

You really should read the article, it's pretty short and it's fantastic.

Yeah, unfortunately I don't really have time even to watch the 14 minute clip right now. I will get to it by this weekend though. It's true that government should represent the view of the people, that's the great thing about democracy. The problem with that though is that the view of the people can be manipulated (as I believe it is in the case of Obama). Also, it's not just the president that doesn't represent the view of the people, congress in the U.S. also has the lowest approval rating in history.