GhandchiقندچيClinton-Obama and Iran

Sam Ghandchi

http://www.ghandchi.com/501-Clinton-ObamaEng.htm

 

 

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday, an important milestone in U.S. presidential primary election.  My goal here is not to forecast tomorrow’s results and my discussion is about what position I think can benefit the world the most in the 2008 US presidential election, because of the status of the U.S. in the world economy and politics.

 

In my opinion what is the most important in the 2008 elections is a proper economic policy of the candidate, which will not only impact the U.S. economy but will highly impact the global economy.  Nonetheless, I believe the election results will be based on the candidate’s position on Iraq War and not on economy.

 

When looking at the two leading republican candidates, John Mc Cain does not offer any new economic strategy beside what the current Bush administration is doing.  In contrast Mitt Romney has a good understanding of the post-industrial sector of economy and for years has been a successful investor in that sector. 

 

Nonetheless, it does not seem like Mr. Romney can win the Republican nomination and John Mc Cain seems to be the one who will win.  Such a result means that the success of the Republican side in this election will not benefit the new economy which has suffered a lot since the year 2000 and the areas like Silicon Valley of California are not much better off from what I had observed during the 2001 crisis and this when the unemployment lines in San Jose of California are again getting longer and longer.

 

http://www.ghandchi.com/500-FuturistIranEng.htm#00  

 

On the other hand, in the Democratic side, Barak Obama is a candidate who has a better understanding of post-industrial society and the impending singularity which Ray Kurzweil, the prominent futurist, has been discussing for a long time showing how 100 years in 21st Century is equivalent to 20000 years and its implications.

 

http://www.singularity.com

 

It is interesting that even the Republican candidate Romney, being a venture capitalist, his view of US economy in the next 10 years, is very close to Mr. Kurzweil’s view of what we are facing in the 21st Century, although Romney’s whole platform is not commensurable with his view of economy.

 

In contrast, Mr. Obama has been working more and more to find ways that our current society can bridge to the future of humanity that we see in the horizon in this century. 

 

Nonetheless, if John Mc Cain becomes the Republican nominee in the 2008 election, I believe Hilary Clinton has a better chance to win the presidency than Barak Obama. Why?

 

As I noted before, although the economic policy is the key issue for the U.S. and the world at this juncture of history, but the I believe the Iraq War will be the deciding factor in this election.  If that to be the case, those not supporting the Iraq War, will vote for any democratic nominee, whether it be Clinton or Obama, whereas those circumstantially supporting Iraq War, may break their vote if the democratic nominee is Hilary Clinton, but would stick with Mc Cain if on the democratic side, Barak Obama is running because Mr. Obama, for better or worse, has been identified with Iraq War pull back at any cost whereas Ms. Clinton is not viewed that way and many who are conservative with regards to Iraq War may still vote for her.

 

Although the Clinton ticket has a better chance than a Obama ticket to defeat Mc Cain, but I think a joint Clinton-Obama ticket would be the best option for the 2008 election. I think such a ticket not only has a better chance to win but can also exercise futuristic economic policies rather than getting entangled with the same old economic policies that have damaged the progress of post-industrial economy. 

 

When even in South Korea has fiber in the last mile to the home, in the U.S. still the Internet access has a long way to get to such an infrastructure which is a must for Internet2.  When the schools can move to offer books online, U.S. public schools are still functioning like pre-Internet era and the students' backpacks get heavier when even some less developed countries are taking more advantages of Internet in their educational system than the U.S. And other issues of social justice I have discussed before and there is no need to repeat here.

 

http://www.ghandchi.com/238-SocialJustice.htm

 

***

 

This article was intended to discuss Iran with relation to the upcoming US presidential election but I wrote mostly about issues that are not even U.S. specific but issues that have global effect. Why?  Because frankly I believe if the U.S. does not take a correct global strategy in this election, it can hurt the whole world including Iran and Iranians.

 

Nonetheless I should discuss my view of the approach of Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama with regards to Islamic Republic of Iran and Iranian people.  I believe Ms. Clinton took a correct position when she joined the vote for economic sanction against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards while at the same time not supporting a position of military attack against Iran.  In other words, not supporting any military attack against Iran, which is my own personal view, does not mean to a appease terrorism by Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). 

 

Anti-war does not just mean to stop any military attack against Iran but it also means to stop any sales of arms by Russia, China or any other country to Iran. Many IRI lobbyists try to take advantage of anti-war sentiments to help Islamic Republic to arm itself whereas such an event also increases the possibility of war.  US future president should know not only to stop such military expansion but also to know that Islamic Republic must be dealt with seriously in the area of human rights.

 

Moreover just the human rights conditions is not enough as the basis of relations of Western Democracies and other democratic countries with Islamic Republic of Iran, today any progressive state should support the pro-democracy movement of Iran for a secular state.  The theocracy in Iran is being challenged by Iran’s civil movements of women, students, teachers,  workers, ethnic and minority religious groups, and all other interest groups that have risen in a peaceful struggle to demand their rights.  This movemenmt needs to be supported by any democratic state and organization which addresses Iran.  Islamic Republic of Iran must go.

   

Hoping for a Federal, Democratic, and Secular Futurist Republic in Iran,

 

Sam Ghandchi, Publisher/Editor
IRANSCOPE
http://www.iranscope.com
February 4, 2008

 

Text in Persian

http://www.ghandchi.com/501-Clinton-Obama.htm

 

Related Article

http://www.ghandchi.com/509-apologizeEng.htm

 

 

Related Book:

http://www.ghandchi.com/500-FuturistIranEng.htm

 

 

 

Web ghandchi.com

1 1