Lessons and observations after US mid-term rout

US Democrats secure sweeping win
(BBC News: Thursday, 9 November 2006, 23:43 GMT )

Democrats have gained the final seat in the battle for the US Senate, sealing their mid-term poll victory in both houses of Congress

Republican George Allen admitted defeat to his Democratic opponent, James Webb, in the close Virginia Senate race.

The Democrats had already secured the House of Representatives in Tuesday's elections.

President George W Bush has pledged to work with his rivals, and says he is open to new ideas on Iraq.

He has already accepted the resignation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, key architect of US policy in Iraq, following the poll defeat.
(Read on...)

My Comments:

Hi friends,

The just-concluded mid-term US elections that resulted in the Democrats sweeping into both the House of Representatives and the Senate was something only the most optimistic Democrat would have dared hope for.

The resignation (or sacking) of Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defence is also one of few lights at the end of a long and desolate tunnel.

Bush is now a lame duck. He has nothing to look forward to in the remaining two years of his term. He can only try to protect and preserve whatever legacy there is left.

In my opinion, the likely scenario would be like this:

1. Gates as the new Secretary of Defence would give Bush an excuse to make a 180 degree turn to consider some way of a face-saving way out of the Irag quagmire. Bush will declare bravely now that Iraq had undergone a democratic election ( and hence is a democracy by definition) and that justice has been meted out by the Sadam conviction, America had achieved a moral victory and can leave Iraq in the “able” hands of the Iraqis.

So adios and soyonara Baghdad! (Of course, the Iraqis would also ensure that Bush’s cronies in the oil business would get all the juicy contracts in order to feed America’s insatiable appetite for the earth’s fossil fuels whilst lining their corporate pockets simultaneously).

2. Now that Rumsfeld has “fallen on his sword” like the warrior of old, could Cheney be persuaded to do likewise?

The Republican Party would surely prefer that Bush use the remainder of his term to ensure a Republican successor to the White House in 2008. Perhaps a vice-President who has a real hope of stepping into the White House could use the next two years for exposure and publicity? Cheney could be persuaded to have a “ heart attack” or any other excuse ( vertigo or erectile dysfunction even).

3.Do not expect anything exciting from the world’s only superpower as there will be only political grid-lock and partisan politicking with each side neutralizing the other on all major policy initiatives.

Do not believe all the BS about “putting the past behind us” and “moving on” or other such talk!

4. America having been bitten once (again) by this second Vietnam, will not care to be involved in the rest of the world. It will be increasingly isolationist.We, the rest of the universe would just have to manage by our poor lonesome selves! Boo hoo!

Lessons that we can learn:

1.Public accountability- Rumsfeld takes the rap for Iraq. Who in Singapore takes the rap for major “boo-boos” in Shin Corp-Temasek saga?

2. There are none so blind as those that would not want to see.

Iraq was so glaringly a wrong war for America, yet the myopic Bush Administration thought that it could still pull the rabbit out of the hat even up to the last minute. Note Saddam conviction came out “coincidentally” 1-2 days before the polls were scheduled to begin.

In Singapore, what needless sufferings do the people need to endure before policies like “GRC as vehicles for weak PAP MP’s into parliament”; “continued disadvantages for citizens in non-PAP wards”; more “Tan Jee Suan’s” who are unable to benefit from Singapore’s ascent to the first world; Widening rich-poor divide etc. get the attention required?

Our new parliament ( literally too) has just come into session and some new MP’s have given seemingly “impressive” maiden speeches. We will see how much of the talk will result in anything concrete for the benefit of the common folks.

I will give the benefit of the doubt to all and sundry in the new Parliamentary chambers ( on both sides of the political divide ) and will not prejudge anyone.

Let us see how the government leaders respond to these back-benchers’ appeals.

Cheers

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan