(Mt. Fuji 100 km far from the east in early November; Click to enlarge.)
Don’t Be Fooled On Presidential Election
Today, Monday November 3, is a public holiday in Japan, since it is the Culture Day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holidays_of_Japan
People in Japan, too, are waiting for the first business day, tomorrow Tuesday, of this week, since the U.S. Presidential Election voting will begin and the Tokyo Stock Exchange will open after the extreme volatility of the last week.
Last evening I went out to the field nearby to happen to see Mt. Fuji as you see in the above picture corner.
It was late since I could not deliver a postcard earlier, though I have to still prepare some for some business. That is why Mt. Fuji looked so dim 100 kilometers far.
Yet, I saw some signs in the sky. You might be able to catch on them.
SECTION I: SWING VOTERS
There is a very reasonable report and work of analysis on swing voters.
http://thehill.com/wppdf/DLC_political_study.pdf
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who are the swing voters?
Key Groups that Decide National Elections
The Democratic Leadership Council
By Al From and Victoria Lynch
September 2008
…
Our estimate is that together white men and women with at least a high school education but no college degree swing the outcome of a general election by an astonishing average of 6.7 percentage points between elections that Democrats win and lose, respectively.
That is more than double the margin by which President Bush defeated John Kerry in 2004. Cutting into Republicans’ traditional margin with these voters could well mean the difference between a broad Democratic triumph and a narrow Democratic defeat.
On average, white men with at least a high school diploma but no college degree swing the outcome 3.7 percentage points, and white women with the same education swing it 3 percentage points…
To win a national election, Democrats don’t need to win those key categories of swing voters, but they cannot be blown out among them. Losing them by 5 percentage points is likely to yield a Democratic victory; losing them by 25 percentage points is likely to yield a very different outcome...
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But the following table indicates that moral judgment and decision on voting by European-American women can critically contribute to the outcome of American elections eventually even in a historical context.
(Click to enlarge.)
From a historical point of view, without support from European-American women for the emancipation of slaves before and during the Civil War, African Americans cannot enjoy the current state of freedom.
Therefore, the final result of 2008 Presidential Election would be highly influenced by whether a majority of European-American women would or would not think that it is their moral duty to vote for any Democratic Presidential candidate, namely Mr. Barack Obama in this case of 2008.
SECTION II: "FOOLS VOTE FOR OBAMA"
It is truly disappointing to see that a first rate journalist associated with The New York Times still cannot understand the significant difference between Japan and China without mentioning Japan’s great contribution to the U.S. economy in these decades.
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Vote for ( )
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No, we don’t need a president defending greed on Wall Street, but we do need one who can explain that we are all in the same boat, that a leak at one end can sink everyone and that while we must regulate, we don’t want to kill risk-taking and the rewards that go with that — which are essential to growing our economy.
Second, we need a president who can energize, inspire and hold the country together during what will be a very stressful recovery. We have to climb out of this financial crisis at a time when the baby boomers are about to retire and going to need their Social Security and eventually Medicare. We are all going to be paying the government more and getting less until we grow out of this hole.
Third, we need a president who can rally the world to our side. We cannot get out of this crisis unless China starts consuming more and unless Europe keeps lowering interest rates. Everyone is interconnected, and everyone is still looking to America to lead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/opinion/02friedman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
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Even top journalists in New York cannot understand that the key point is not the American economic situation but the fact that the whole world is being badly damaged financially by greed and crimes so common on Wall Street.
American voters must vote for a candidate who does not damage the world. American domestic issues are a secondary matter, since American economy cannot stand alone in immaculate condition if the world economy gets derailed by selfish and irresponsible quest of the American Dream by American citizens.
On the other hand, some Japanese are worried by the expected policies and measures President Mr. Barack Obama would take in his pursuit of the American national interests.
It is because Americans wrongly think that China will become a democratic nation along with development of its economy and increase in its national wealth, they state.
But, China has no intention to adopt democracy. Chinese communist-party leaders stealthily and essentially regard the U.S. as an ultimate enemy. China sends hundreds of spies and agents to Washington D.C. and New York to win over influential American politicians, high-ranking officials, first-rate critics, economists, and researchers, and businessmen by bribery, they argue.
China has already reinforced a tie-up with Russia, waiting for the debacle of value of the dollar, the state bankruptcy of the U.S., and inevitable global great depression, they conclude.
But, Americans, especially the Democratic elite, still believe that China is a good friend of America’s, while Chinese people have no freedom in political activities and social and cultural initiatives except quasi-free market transaction and participation.
What is worse, Chinese agents in Washington D.C. and New York are actively engaged in disseminating an anti-Japan view in terms of history and culture, since Japan is the only nation that can fatally stand against China and help the U.S. avoid complicated and malicious traps China has been installing around the U.S., they emphasize.
( http://blog.goo.ne.jp/2005tora/ )
But, it will be Japan that will have to go to trouble to rescue the world (with its national power appraised as No. 2 in the world) from possible disasters President Mr. Barack Obama would cause on No. 1 America with relation to China, since they are highly anticipated to happen on the analogy of the Clinton Administration.
That is why some Japanese pundits and critics think that "fools vote for Obama" while China and Russia are waiting for the coming of their Age as the Two Superpowers that will supersede the U.S. while the American Democratic elite blindly trust their Chinese and Russian friends.
As for me, I don’t think that it is fools that vote for Mr. Barack Obama.
It is so because Mr. Barack Obama looks like being overwhelmingly supported by poor African Americans and pious European-American women.
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That is all for today.
Some Japanese are working hard even on a public holiday, helping the poor as volunteers, discussing no-nonsense problems, visiting a family member or a friend in a hospital or a prison, or performing their duty as a citizen and a public servant like honest Chinese and humble Americans.
And, a miracle can happen at any moment on those occasions.
It is so, since even Japanese people die like everybody in the world who expects to meet the God or Allah before he or she enters Heaven.
Indeed, the same standard will apply to Japanese as to Christians and Muslims, since the God is only one, though it is about one percent of the whole Japanese population that call themselves a Christian, a Muslim, or a Judaist.
Truly, this is the issue to be placed above the economic one in terms of importance for mankind.
Pro 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
Pro 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Pro 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.