2009 19
Why is the President of USA the President of the World?
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Because, the USA is a very federal country and there´s little a President can do to change the way America is going other than by convincing Congress, Governors and Mayors to go along with him.
Because, the only area in which a US President really has power is in the military and foreign policy.
Because, the EU, which could be a true military rival of USA, not in the sense of enemy but in the sense of forcing USA to act in sync around the world, doesn´t really have a post WWII vocation for the role.
Because, China is not there yet.
Because, the UN is ineffective and little countries have an absurd amount of power. The UN never came up with the Senator/Representative solution to distribute world power. It either has the veto concept by very few countries that are too powerful, or it has the one vote per country that gives little countries too much power.
Because, America is the biggest global exporter of culture and most movies – TV shows do a great job at promoting the image of the US President around the world.
Because, the authority of the US President is so resilient that not even George W. Bush was able to destroy it. Bush had a significant chance to improve the state of the World and he did the exact opposite. He inherited a world mostly rich and mostly in peace and he and his administrations made such wrong decisions that the world is now less rich and less peaceful. Obama has a chance to change the course.
2008 5
Obama: When the minority is the majority
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
Image via WikipediaBarack Obama did not win the nomination because he is black. He won it because democrats could for the first time in history, forgot that he was black and focused on the key election issues and on the person. Democratic voters obviously also liked Hillary Clinton as well as she had practically the same amount of votes. Those who voted for her forgot she was a woman. In both cases voters felt that an African American or a woman, could be elected Presidents. In general I think that what happened to the Democratic Party is that its demographics are now such that the majority of the candidates, namely male wasps are now a minority of the electorate. And the electorate realized this for the first time in a big way. And as minorities go, Obama represents the most minorities of all the candidates. By now in America…the minorities are the majority. We will see if white males lose dominance. 