Phil Keoghan stands at the finish line and sees a couple approaching. The 5 month race is gonna end soon, he mused.
As the couple stepped on the mat...
Phil: Barack and Michelle Obama, you're offical winners of the Amazing Democratic Race.
Barack: Thank you! (x5000)
Only moments later, their rivals stepped on the mat, looking real tired.
Phil: Hillary and Bill Clinton, you're team #2 of the Amazing Democratic Race.
Hillary: It's been an honor racing against Obama. But I'm not endorsing him immediately.
****
For the second time in the race, Hillary Clinton defied polls, which predicted a double-digit loss in South Dakota, and won handily by 10 points in that state. Pundits have chosen to write her off many times, but being the wife of the Comeback Kid, she remained determined (or obstinate to the Clinton-haters) and came back many times in Mew Hampshire, Super Tuesday, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virgina, Puerto Rico and South Dakota. Though she never made up the 200-delegate deficit after her infamous 11/12 consecutive losses, I think she still deserves recognition as the Comeback Wife.
So now we have a half-black and an old man in his seventies vying to set a new first on Nov 4. Most of the world would prefer the former, but then again the US is always full of surprises. (It is painful to learn that the electorate consists of a small percentage of misguided Americans who just haphazardly vote based on charisma, sex, race, religion, whatever you got.)
I'm inclined to use the analogy of the 2007 Formula One Gran Prix season. I know it's crude, but let's say Clinton's counterpart is Alonso in this scenario, Obama is Hamilton, and McCain is Raikkonen (gooesebumps!) Alonso (a white) entered the season last year ready for a 3rd consecutive win, and is the only previous winner entering the 2007 season. Of course, he's an early fave to win. Raikkonen enters, a seasoned driver too, but came in 2nd twice in the previous years. Hamilton appears as a rookie, not to well known. Alonso and Hamilton enagaged in one of the most bitter rivalries in F1 history, and both men had an equal number of wins. About 3,4 races left to go, Hamilton led Alonso by a thin margin. Alonso faltered, and everyone was so sure that Hamilton would win on his rookie attempt. Next thing you know, Hamilton retired from the next race, and suddenly the playing field in even again. Raikkonen gets a share of the spotlight, surprisingly, as the only racer who has a mathmatical shot at winning the crown. Of course, not many paid attention to him. But in the final race in Brazil, Raikkonen handily won the race, Alonso finished 3rd and the cocky Hamilton finished 7th. In the end, Raikkon clinched the Championship title by a single point ahead of the feuding parties.
Indeed, he should take advice from Hamilton.
Naturally, the world has high hopes. But really, American presidents have been known to disappoint. A British history textbook evaluates all the post-war presidents as having only "a limited degree of success" or "some degree of success". By far, even the most popular post-war one (and 4th in American history) Bill Clinton is not without his scandals, impeachments and failures. And he's probably the only acceptable living president by the international community.
Really, the change that the world should have undergone by now is not to hope too much from any American president.
