The Cosmopolitan Blog

This is really not helping the general US ego. They already think that the world revolves around them, and now, what sucks is that the world does actually revolve around the US. The way they talk about the elections (ok, granted, i’m in Canada, it’s hardly very far away) on TV, you’d think it was everyone’s elections. I haven’t met someone who doesn’t know about Hillary and Barack. The republican race may be less known across the planet however, since the candidates haven’t yet been raised to celebrity status. Speaking of celebrities, i just heard that Fred Thompson (actor from Law and Order, that’s how i know him, anyway), just announced that he was dropping out of the race.

Last time around (2004), it was already bad enough, everywhere we looked there was a debate between Kerry and Bush, but at least, i feel like we were spared the primaries. And sure, in 2000, well, we all know that Bush rigged the votes and Al Gore should have been president, so, again, that had our attention.

But the primaries? Really? Seriously? We have to get involved this early in the process? It’s not, you realize, until this time next year, that the next president is sworn in… I heard on CNN that, during the New Hampshire primary, one of the voters expressed the fact that he wouldn’t vote, because he’s already so over it, and it’s overkill, he doesn’t want to go out and vote, so a bit of a backlash there.

I supposed the good news is, the more we spend time talking about the future president, the less W. is getting facetime… Which might explain why he hasn’t been feeling the love recently, and decided to give every US citizen and $800 tax rebate in the form of a check in their mailbox… Can someone say blackmail? Hey, W! You got a reputation and historical legacy you’re trying to salvage?

The thing is, like it or not, you gotta care. Like it or not, the news of possible US recession just sent the markets reeling this past week. The few shares I follow have hit rock bottom, and one’s not even in the US and is in one of the most stable industries you can get!

So, then, I ask you this. The question that’s on everyone’s lips: are Americans more racist or sexist? Are they more ready to vote for a woman or a Black man? Shame Oprah didn’t join the race, but seeing she’s Black AND she’s a woman, I think THAT, somehow is still a decade away (in my estimate) from being acceptable in such a bigotted, conservative and puritan country.

Personally, i think they’re more ready for a woman, although Barack has my Canadian vote. But here’s the truth. I honestly don’t think they’re ready for either. That is, they WILL pick either the woman or the black man, and that person will be the party’s nominee. But when it comes down to voting for the leader of the free world, my opinion is, come November 08, the Americans will chicken out, and decide not to vote for the Democrat candidate, they won’t want the woman or the Black man, and, therefore, by default, the votes will go to the Republican nominee.

So here it is: I predict that the next president of the United States will be a Republican again.

Anyway, whether you’re glued to your TV set or whether you wish the US would disappear off the face of the planet for a while, let me know what you think. There’s a new poll up (see right hand side), i hope you vote, you can select up to 5 answers.

I work in Marketing, so finding one’s niche is extremely important. And I applaud Al Gore for finding his. He found the right mix of serious and “hip” (waow, that dates me, right?) to appeal to as large an audience as possible. He mixed the in-depth understanding and reading (books, presentations…) with the entertainment aspect (concerts), and i do feel that global warming has reached an aweresness level that wasn’t there a couple years ago. Granted, this is my impression, living in North America, maybe, in Europe, things are still unchanged.

And he’s been smart. I think he has good advisors. The success didn’t go to his head, he didn’t suddenly imagine that he could conquer the country and win an election. Many people encouraged him to run, especially since this seems to be a race where everyone and their dog is interested in running, no one would criticize a man with an actual cause for running.

But he knews that his passion and his niche is elsewhere. I don’t think he will run, and good for him, he can do better as the main advocate for a cause than as a “could have been… twice!” president. But i was a little surprised actually, to find how low his ratings were as a potential candidate. Goes to show, you can be successfully pegged at one thing, but unsuccessful at others. I think Al Gore, with all his wisdom, knowledge, experience and tact, makes a great expert, but not necessarily a great president. You’d think a country would want a president that has MORE knowledge than the average Joe, more education, and more experience… But it seems, at least from the past 2 presidential terms, that the US wants a president they can relate to, someone who speaks at their level, who makes mistakes they would make, who acts like he’d be happier on a ranch or playing with toy soldiers… and giving credit were credit is due, maybe through luck, maybe through some really smart planning, George W. has achieved that, giving the average Joe a option that the Democrats hadn’t given for a long, long time.  Anyway, let me digress no further…

I want to congratulate Al Gore on winning the Nobel Peace Prize …and on finding his niche.