Hamas Victory compared to US election

[Dr Ron]

I found the coverage of the Hamas victory on Morning Edition somewhat amusing.

Two points mentioned:

The current government stepped down before the final results were in--they conceded before all the votes were counted.

Exit polls showed that Fatah would win, contrary to the final results.

This means nothing in relation to the US election but it was amusing to consider the comparisons.

[beachmom]

1. One other similarity

Hamas represents islamic fundamentalism.

The wing of the Republican party in charge here represents religious fundamentalism.

Obviously, Hamas is WAY worse since they've also got a terrorist division, but if you look all over the world, extreme religious conservative movements are flourishing. It is really disheartening for moderates like myself. I may also add that the Iraqi Shiite government is islamic fundamentalist, too, something everyone tries to gloss over. Sigh . . .

[Dr Ron]

2. One major difference

There are both similarities and differences. One major difference is that many people appear to have voted for Hamas in response to the incompetence and corruption of the previous government rather than voting on ideology. Here they returned the incompetent and corrupt government.

[beachmom]

3. Good point, Dr. Ron

But there's always 2006 for us to correct that error . . .

[sandnsea]

4. One teeny speck of hope

Arafat always said he couldn't do anything about the terrorist attacks because he didn't control Hamas. Well, with Hamas in charge, they can't say that anymore. I suppose they could escalate the violence into a full-on war, but at least Israel has a legitimate power to deal with instead of behind the scenes antagonizers.