Guyana 360 backs Obama

Contributors to Guyana360 have agreed to back Senator Barack Obama - the Democratic Party nominee for the 2008 White House Race.

Some of our readers might ask why are we meddling in the domestic politics of the United States? The answer is pretty simple. Guyana like most countries around the world, is tied economically to the United States and hence it makes sense for us to be cognizant of who will be leading the country for the next five years, despite not having the power to decide.
A good friend once uttered these words, “Once America sneezes, Guyana catches a cold.” Certainly true stataement when one examines the economic pressures locally, which has been blamed on the sliding US dollar.

Let, not stray from the intentions of this post.
It’s not a subject likely to go away anytime soon. The US Presidential race is bringing out the worst in the profession of American journalism. It has become a situation where the leading candidate, Senator Barack Obama, the first African-American to have made it so far into a race for the White House, not only has to watch every word that comes out of his mouth, but also every word that comes out of the mouths of every snorty-nosed reporter trying to advance his or her career.

When Obama won the first primary in Iowa earlier this election season, beating former first lady, Senator Hillary Clinton, it was a surprise to a lot of people. Iowa is a predominately white state, and the foregone conclusion was that white people wasn’t going to vote for a black man. But whether it’s Obama’s ancestry (having a white mother), his personal style, his message or a combination of all the above, plus his credentials, background, etc., his appeal to white folks as well as to Hispanic-, Asian- and African-Americans, and to young people, and people not traditionally party supporters, is unprecedented.

So what’s the problem? We’ve all heard of the unscrupulousness of the American media, purveying its corruptive influences on the minds of the susceptible, but such criticisms aren’t usually directed at the news reporting machinery. However, this campaign season seems to be highlighting the viciousness of the major news networks’ brand of journalism. It appears that freedom of speech is no longer a treasured feature of the American Dream when a candidate such as Barack Obama is running for president.

One can argue that facing an interrogation squad that calls itself a news reporting team of political analysts helps to prepare a candidate for the tough job of running a nation such as the US, which is fast tumbling from its pedestal of power and glory.

Who ever inherits the task of getting American back on track has the job cut out for them. In my opinion, based on real problems in that nation; social infrastructural decline (bridges collapsing, failing schools, inadequate medical services for the poor, rising cost of living, joblessness and homelessness, among other things), America is rapidly joining the ranks of the Third World, even if no one has the gall to admit it. Just recently I heard one TV show host say something similar to that effect. Imagine financing a war with money borrowed from the Chinese? And being three trillion dollars in debt?

And one man stood up and said it is time for “change we can believe in”. Change the conduct of business at the White House; level the playing field between the haves and the have nots; share the pie so that everyone gets a piece, not some having their bellies full to bursting and others empty, “bitter and frustrated”.

But it seems that some people wouldn’t have it any other way, and any talk of change is a great threat to their establishment. And the weapons of mass destruction to any idea of change are the journalists and the media networks that uphold such establishment.