Observing U.S. presidential race from way south
I never thought I would miss U.S. politics so much!
I have been working in Santiago de Chile for seven months. When my parents wrote me an email saying they had obtained press credentials for the Clinton-Obama debate in Ohio, the only sentiment (please forgive me) that I felt was jealousy! (Check out Dad's awesome videos at http://www.kpcnews.com/articles/2008/02/28/online_features/video/debate.txt )
As a female observer of politics, I would love to see a woman in the White House -- even Chile had a female president before the U.S.! (Argentina has had two women presidents!)
However I lean toward Obama because Hillary represents the establishment, and she favored the war. I also tend to dislike her leadership style which tends to be too "masculine." Voting for women is supposed to imply change, but I do not see that with Hillary.
The funny thing for me about this election is that I have never seen (through emails) my mother so excited about a presidential race! God bless Obama if he can motivate more people to become passionate about politics. (Or are we better off with a less passionate population ...?)
The best newspaper in Chile -- El Mercurio -- runs about an article every day or every two days about the U.S. elections, and most Chileans I talk to know about Obama and Clinton.
In any case, U.S. politics is much more exciting now than politics in Chile. The next elections are about two years away, and one of the leading contenders is another woman -- Soledad Alvear! We will see ...
