Guardian: The World Is Watching

[kskiska]

The importance of this year's US presidential election, which formally gets under way on Monday in Iowa, cannot be over-estimated. George Bush's presidency, begun amid unprecedented controversy, has only deepened the national divisions that produced the virtual dead-heat with Al Gore in 2000.

Far from trying to bridge this gulf by governing from the centre, Mr Bush has pursued an unapologetically hard-right domestic and foreign policy agenda. Remarkably, he even managed to dissipate the strong sense of national and international solidarity engendered by the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. America's divisions - political, ideological, religious, social and economic - are more sharply defined than ever. They are reflected in Congress, where Republicans narrowly dominate; and, in the last year, by the schism in public opinion over the Iraq war. It is no exaggeration to say that the US is now two nations, a house that, ignoring Abraham Lincoln, is once again in many crucial ways divided against itself. The principal challenge facing those who would supplant Mr Bush is thus how to put America back together again.

The presidential election matters massively for non-Americans, too. Indeed, given that 50% or more of the US electorate may not bother to vote at all next November, it may be that the outcome will be more closely watched abroad than at home. There is barely a single, dusty corner of our interconnected world that is not directly or indirectly affected by American power and policy. From the poppy fields of Afghanistan to the parched fields of Ethiopia, from the Sunni heartlands of Iraq to Korea's demilitarised zone, from the negotiating tables of Delhi and Jerusalem to world forums such as the UN and WTO, US influence projected through military might, muscular diplomacy, economic clout and bilateral aid is everywhere felt. More than that, it is most usually decisive - and divisive. Long after Boston and on a global scale, here is metaphorical taxation without representation.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1125260,00.html