El Blog de Carlos

Vean este post en Foreign Policy:

 http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/12/07/food_for_though

Food for thought

Mon, 12/07/2009 – 9:41pm

Percentage of Americans who believe in angels: 55

Percentage of Americans who believe in evolution: 39

Percentage of Americans who believe in anthropogenic global warming: 36

Percentage of Americans who believe in ghosts: 34

Percentage of Americans who believe in UFOs: 34

 

Bueno, no comments…

From the website http://bitsandpieces.us/2009/04/19/if-obama-was-white/. First thought was that it was funny to see things a bit different. Second one was a question: Why? I mean, is it still the color of the skin so important? For a President that is emanating hope and new ideas, this kind of make up could mean, for the people doing it, that the color is influencing policy. I would have loved to see a “If Bush was black…” photo in the last 8 years, but still and again, I think racism might be with us for a while.

It is true that an effort so big as a Presidential campaign has its winners and not-so-big winners. I am not really sure that the price of loyalty is to get a minor job in the administration and without never been part of a political campaign, the satisfaction of having participate should already be a good feeling. What does it says about Obama? That’s the main question of Gideon Rachman. I would argue that a President to-be so charismatic, with so big hopes has to show that he is not driven just by ideology but reality. It is true that the fact of not taking care of his own people looks bad, though. We may need to wait a bit until seeing if in fact those people who helped him to get the Presidency were letting down or not. Actually, fighting between rationality and emotion, I tend, still, to think that Obama is not a bad guy or a typical politician… But only time would say.

Obama and the price of loyalty

December 1, 2008

“Washington is a tough town”, remarked a friend of mine, as we surveyed the make-up of Obama’s new national-security team. What he meant was that the Obama loyalists, who had slaved away on the campaign, have got none of the top jobs.

I realise that the fate of the Obama campaign team may not be the primary concern of foreigners, trying to figure out the future of American foreign policy. But I think the way Obama has handled his inner circle still says something interesting about the man.

Advisers who sign up for a presidential campaign are basically buying a lottery ticket. The idea is that if their candidate wins, they get to share in some of the spoils. But look at who Obama has appointed to the three biggest foreign policy jobs: Hillary Clinton, his arch-rival, gets the State Department; James Jones, a marine general who was close to John McCain, gets National Security; Robert Gates is held over from the Bush administration at Defence. And Obama’s intimates: Samantha Power, Tony Lake, Richard Danzig – so far, nothing. Only Susan Rice has made the cut as ambassador to the UN. And although she made a brave face of it, at the press conference that has just finished, Rice will probably be disappointed not to be in the White House – and right next to Obama, as she was throughout the campaign.

I can see the logic behind all of these choices. There is a clear political calculation in buying off the Clintons – and Hillary is very able and well-known abroad. Gates is generally thought to have returned common sense to the Pentagon, after the madness of the Rumsfeld years. And since Democrats are often faintly suspect to the military, it probably helps to have a seven-foot (well, over six foot, anyway) marine general in the White House.

As for the people who did foreign policy for Obama during the campaign, I guess most of them will be looked after – at a lower level. The ambassadorship to the UN has often been a stepping stone to greater things, and could be again for Rice. Richard Danzig may be slotted high up into the Pentagon hierarchy, and could replace Gates – if and when he gets his oft-stated wish of returning to Texas. Poor old Samantha Power was forced off the campaign, after off-the-record remarks about Hillary being a monster were printed. So I guess that rules out a job for her at the State Department. Tony Lake is relatively old – and has apparently said he doesn’t want a job. Jim Steinberg, who has missed out on the top job at the NSC, may be slotted high up into the State Department – since he worked at the Clinton White House.

And what does all this say about Obama? Well, I suppose that he is tough and unsentimental. He knows that these are crucial jobs that cannot be handed out as gifts for loyalty and hard work.

President-elect Obama is starting to face the goods and bads of the presidency. Is quite paradoxical that in a world where the web 2.0 concept starts to be obsolete, there are still too much to catch up. Have a look at this post by Gadget Lab from Wired blog network:

President-elect Barack Obama will be cut off from using his Blackberry when he takes office because the U.S. Government can’t guarantee the full security of his communications. The ban might even extend into his use of email, which insiders believe will be a difficult transition for the tech-savvy next leader of the free world. 

Even though he won’t take the Oath of Office for another two months, Obama is already considered the most tech-friendly President ever. As we found out last week, he uses an Apple Macbookas his  notebook PC and kept in touch with his family during the campaign through the iChat webcam program. That’s on top of his campaign’s success in using the internet to amass kajillions of dollars from ordinary Americans, as well as the success of the MyBarackObama.com volunteer network.

The Blackberry is one of President-elect Obama’s favorite gadgets because it allowed him to be constantly updated throughout the campaign. Like many other people, the belt-fastened phone became more than a fashion accessory – it proved indispensable as he used it to receive advice from old friends in Chicago, check out baseball scores, and take a peek at the latest memos from his aides.

According to the New York Times, Obama’s BlackBerry messages are “crisp, properly spelled and free of symbols or emoticons.” Which means that he probably did not send a message to Sen. John McCain on election night that looked anything like this: Pwned! 2 Bad 4 U, Sen.! : )

Georgetown University Professor and Presidential tech analyst Diana Owen says that the possible hacking of the Obama BlackBerry is a threat that is best dealt with by not using it at all. And though maintaining the security of personal communications is the main reason why he will be forced off of it, the Presidential Records Act is another thorn in his side. The act says that any correspondence by the President or VP is owned by the public and subject to historical review.

But even if he doesn’t get to use his smart phone or even email, aides say that Obama is determined to be the first President to use a laptop in the Oval Office. We say it’s about time.

Juan Freire en Soitu.es, tiene un comentario sobre las elecciones en EEUU e Internet que resume perfectamente muchas de las cosas que se han dicho o intuido sobre la campaña de Obama y su uso de technologías de comunicación. Además acaba con cuatro preguntas para Europa que me parecen importantes de responder.

“¿Y en Europa? Deberíamos aprender algunas cosas de esta experiencia y empezar a reconciliarnos con algunas de nuestras propias incongruencias. Por ejemplo:

• Los ‘racistas y segregacionistas’ Estados Unidos han elegido un presidente negro. Además dos mujeres han jugado papeles clave en el proceso electoral. ¿Es pensable algo similar en la Europa ‘políticamente correcta’?
• En la ‘anticuada’ Norteamerica, donde la telefonía móvil lleva años de retraso y la banda ancha es aún una quimera en buena parte del territorio, internet ha sido determinante. ¿Cuándo sucederá algo similar en la ‘moderna’ Europa en la que los escasos y simplistas usos de la red en las elecciones siguen siendo más de lo mismo con otros medios?
• En la Norteamerica ‘oligárquica y corporativista’, dos candidatos marginales han logrado vencer e imponerse a las maquinarias de sus propios partidos y lanzar un discurso y programa propio. ¿Cuándo en la ‘democrática’ Europa sucederá algo parecido?
• Si la crisis financiera lo permite, viviremos cuatro años fascinantes para la política y para internet. Y además, en Europa tendremos la oportunidad de conocer a partir de hoy lo que aquí solo empezará a suceder dentro de algunos años.”

A veces desde nuestro pedestal se nos olvida que el mundo continua girando…

Para los que quieran ver muchas fotos del nuevo Presidente de los USA, y disfrutar (en realidad) de fotos realmente buenas, pueden ir a http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/the_next_president_of_the_unit.html

y ver unas cuantas excelentes fotos.

From Foreign Policy Watch

September 18, 2008

It is quite funny to see that the battle for the US presidency is now been waged by Gov Palin and Sen Obama. Sen McCain seems to watch “los toros desde la barrera” and wait for his time. So the candidate for VP against the candidate for President. I am always saying that the USA political system will always keep surprising me for its energy and ability to reshape debates.

There is a good article on this new situation (popularity of Gov Palin) in http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0910/p09s01-coop.html that put the finger on the press and its role in the campaign.

I am not USA citizen so I not a voter in the upcoming elections. However, as Political Scientist I cannot but admire the savviness of the speeches from Sarah Palin and Barak Obama. In particular Governor Palin’s speech has resulted in a new tone and defiance to the Democrat candidate. Without entering in the pure political aspects, I find it quite good start for Governor Palin and it is worthy to read it. Obama’s one is also good to read.