Exclusive: Two's company, three's crowd in US politics — TS Sudhir

 As the dust settles on the American Presidential election, the question that many in this country are asking is why should the choice be restricted to only two candidates.

Yes, on paper, some other candidates do manage to figure but in the high-voltage contest between the Democrats and the Republicans, they get reduced to being also-rans. 

In every election, the battle is for the undecided one-third of the electorate, given that both Democrats and Republicans have the following of one-third each of the American electorate.
But despite one in every three persons not really siding with either of the two parties, they are forced to fall in line simply because there is no other significant choice. Most voters do not want their vote to go waste so a third party candidate does not stand any chance.
One of the candidates who created a stir as a third party candidate was businessman Ross Perot in 1992. He won 18.9 per cent of the vote and that remains the best finish by a non-major party candidate in a Presidential election in the last 100 years.
However, four years later, Perot's Reform Party disappointed by finishing with just 8.4 per cent of the vote. The New York Times in a reference to the Obama vs Romney contest described the voters' dilemma as "like trying to decide between liver and brussels sprouts—a selection they would rather not have to make." There were other candidates this time round as well but in the end, they did not even stand up to be counted.
But the defeat of the conservative extreme right Republicans has already started the murmurs within the party. Herman Cain, a former Presidential candidate has called for a large fraction of Republican party leaders to leave the party and form a third, even more conservative party.
His argument interestingly is that "a third party is needed to save America".
The apprehension however is a clone of the Republicans would only help the Democrats consolidate its position in power for ever. After the Republicans' crushing defeat in 2008 at the hands of Barack Obama, the Tea Party emerged. While Cain's comments are unlikely to result in any kind of split in the Republicans, the party itself may metamorphose itself into an ultra-conservative form.
Both parties also have a vested interest in ensuring it is a straight fight between them and no third party comes to eat into their votes and create problems in a close contest. After all, they have not forgotten Florida in 2000 when Democrat Al Gore lost to George Bush by 537 votes. The loss was attributed partly to Green Party candidate Ralph Nader who took more than that number of votes from Gore in Florida.
From the perspective of a country like India, where multi-party system and coalitions have made the administrative process slow, the American system looks too organised. But perhaps Indian politics truly embodies the spirit of free economy where the consumer (in this case the voter) is spoilt for choice.

Read More

Obama win could mean pressure on India to open up more

Wednesday, 07 November 2012 21:34.

It would be business after the electoral rhetoric, India's government, politicians and industry said Wednesday after US president Barrack Obama won a second term in office, hoping he will encourage more trade and investment and a strategic partnership between the two countries.

But pressure could also rise on India to expedite big-ticket economic reforms like opening up the insurance, defence and agriculture sectors after liberalisation of the retail trade and ramp up military cooperation, observers said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Obama on his win and said: "We have not only advanced cooperation across the full spectrum of our bilateral relationship, but also deepened our engagement in the pursuit of global peace, stability and prosperity."

"No doubt that there is much more we can do together to further strengthen the India-US partnership and thereby advance peace and stability, expand mutual economic opportunities, harness the potential of science and technology, innovation and higher education and empower our people to address global challenges."

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram welcomed Obama's victory and hoped that Indo-US relations will get stronger, especially economic relations.
Industry lobbies FICCI and CII also applauded the Obama re-election.

"A historic second term for Obama augurs well for the now established India-US strategic and economic partnership," said R.V. Kanoria, FICCI president.
CII president Adi Godrej said Indian industry is hopeful that both countries will strengthen economic ties by "lowering barriers to trade and investment".

"The 2nd term of a US President is the more fascinating one. With politicking out of the way, it's time to build the real legacy," tweeted Anand Mahindra, managing director of Mahindra Group.

Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said India's pharmaceutical and software industries could benefit from Obama's healthcare reforms.
"He wants the healthcare system to become efficient, and that is where the IT industry stands to gain. And he wants it to be affordable, and that is how India's generic drug makers stand to gain," she said speaking at the World Economic Forum event in Gurgaon.

The $100 billion IT industry is hoping for the best. Both Kris Gopalakrishnan of Infosys and N. Chandrasekharan of TCS  hoped that the Obama administration would a "pragmatic" approach.

One of India's grouse during Obama's first term as president has been the challenges the IT companies faced was the rising visa fees and getting visas for their workers. The Indian government has described these as "highly discriminatory" .

Phaneesh Murthy of iGate Corp, however, said the Obama re-election was not the "best news for India or the IT outsourcing industry."
He said the election rhetoric could continue into 2013 and that would determine the "full implications".

Unemployment was a major issue in the election and Obama had criticised US firms "exporting" jobs, seeking to tax them more and use that money to help those companies that keep jobs at home.

Trade and investment analysts said there would be significant issues for India in the years ahead, such as its immigration concerns and US worries about investment barriers.

Washington sees India is vital for its national interests, both as a big export market for US goods and a strong strategic ally, given China's growing assertion in the Asia-Pacific.

Read More

Four more years, thank you, says Obama

"Four more years," Barack Obama tweeted after winning a second term in the White House. "Four more years," he said minutes after he defeated his Republican rival Mitt Romney in a closely contested poll.

"We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you," said another tweet.
- IANS

Read More

Why Indians love Obama ? :Sakshi Blog Exclusive ARTICLE

Barack Obama has been re-elected as the 45th president of the United States of America! No wonder that he managed to get support of the majority, not only within US but also overseas, as he is much loved and admired by the Indians too.  According to a poll conducted prior to the US presidential elections, it was found that majority of the city dwellers wanted him to be re-elected. About 7 in 10 urban crowd followed the US elections and supported Obama according to fact tank found survey in New York.
Why do Indians love Obama? Well, there could be so many answers for this. Many Indians see him as a promising political leader, a motivational person, and mainly someone who built trust of billions through his powerful speeches. And it's an established fact now that Obama is a big follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He says Gandhi is someone he learns from to be a leader and a person who motivates Obama.
This was seen while Obama was contesting for the presidential election last time, the slogan that drew people's attention was “be the change”,which was inspired by Gandhi’s famous quotes.
Also Obama, is known as a charismatic personality in the political world, whose words and thoughts inspire and motivate young minds. He is also one among few who surely did speak about the change and made a lot of changes.
Indians have always loved the US presidents as urban crowd are favourable towards US.
Another important aspect that makes people love Obama is that he managed to catch the world's most wanted terrorist—Osama bin Laden. Not literally, but it was during his tenure that the mission of the hunt operation was accomplished!
Indian-Americans extended their support to Obama in 2012 elections in consideration for his strong support to the Indians as he has appointed them in the highest offices. President Obama also has good relationship with the Indian American community as he has always reached out to the community and recognized their talent and contribution to America.
Also, many believe that Obama has fulfilled the promises which he has made during the presidential election campaign. Now that he has won, can we expect some good news for India?
It's gonna be wait and watch for now!a

Read More

Post win, Obama's new challenge is fiscal cliff

Barack Obama won re-election on Tuesday night, but the US president faces a fresh challenge confronting the "fiscal cliff," a mix of tax increases and spending cuts due to extract some $600 billion from the economy barring a deal with Congress.

 At stake are two separate issues - individual tax cuts due to expire at year's end and tens of billions of dollars in across-the-board federal spending cuts due to kick in the day after New Year's Day.

Failure to prevent a dive off the cliff could rattle US markets, and push the US economy into a recession, which could have global implications. How Obama fares with a familiar set of challenges - most notably a Republican-controlled House of Representatives - could color his second term.

Obama, who defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney based on television projections, will want to strike a deal with Washington lawmakers before December 31 or risk a recession in the first half of 2013, budget experts and Democratic aides say.

His backers say his win gives him a mandate for an elusive "grand bargain" he sought in his first four-year term. Such a pact would raise new revenue, make changes to popular programs like the Medicare health program for the elderly and pare the federal deficit.

"They have signaled that they want a big deal and I think Obama will be aggressive about getting it," said Steve Elmendorf, a former House Democratic senior adviser and now a lobbyist.

At odds 

Obama and most Democrats are at odds with Republicans in Congress over the stickiest issue - whether to let low tax rates for the wealthiest Americans expire on December 31.

The president and most Democrats want to raise taxes on income earned above $250,000; Republicans want to extend the current low rates for all income levels.

Financial markets and the business community crave long-term certainty - and that is what a major deal envisioned by Obama is intended to tackle.

A big X-factor is how congressional Republicans will respond to an Obama win. The hard line against raising revenue taken by many Republicans in the House may not abate after the election.

House Speaker John Boehner said this week that his Republicans would stand firm on their position opposing any tax increases, even for millionaires, though he was speaking before the election results.

Republicans kept control of the House, as expected, and Democrats were projected to maintain control of the Senate.

An Obama victory "takes a lot of air out of the room for Republicans," Jim Walsh, a former Republican representative, who retired in 2009, predicted before the election. The odds of a grander deal with increased revenue - though not in the form of higher tax rates - goes up with an Obama victory, he said.

Former Democratic representative Bart Gordon was unsure whether more conservative elements of the party, associated with the Tea Party movement, would go along so easily. "Those folks don't need much of a reason to fight," Gordon said.

Read More

Romney concedes defeat; wishes Obama successful 2nd term

Conceding defeat, Republican challenger Mitt Romney today wished US President Barack Obama a successful second term in guiding the country through great challenges.

I have just called President Obama to congratulate him, his campaign and his supporters on the victory. I have wished him, his wife and daughters, 65-year-old Romney told his cheering supporters shortly after networks declared his defeat.

Still smiling and waving to them, Romney said this is a time of great challenges. I pray President Obama will be successful in guiding our nation.

Hoping that the economy will become resurgent once again, the businessman-turned politician said he honestly prayed for the President and the nation.

At this critical point, we can't risk political posturing, he said.

Hiding his emotions over the defeat, Romney told his supporters that everything on the field, we have all given to this campaign.

I so wished that I would have been able to fulfil your wishes but the nation has shown trust in the other leader. I honestly pray for him and the nation.

He profusely thanked his supporters for the wonderful campaign.

Read More

List of US presidents from 1789 TO uPTO nOW

Obama won a second term after defeating his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. But who were his descendants? Here's the list...

1.George Washington, 1789-1797
2.John Adams, 1797-1801
3.Thomas Jefferson, 1801-1809
4.James Madison, 1809-1817
5.James Monroe, 1817-1825
6.John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829
7.Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
8.Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841
9.William Henry Harrison, 1841
10.John Tyler, 1841-1845
11.James Knox Polk, 1845-1849
12.Zachary Taylor, 1849-1850
13.Millard Fillmore, 1850-1853
14.Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857
15.James Buchanan, 1857-1861
16.Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865
17.Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869
18.Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-1877
19.Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-1881
20.James Abram Garfield, 1881
21.Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-1885
22.Grover Cleveland, 1885-1889
23.Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893
24.Grover Cleveland, 1893-1897
25.William McKinley, 1897-1901
26.Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-1909
27.William Howard Taft, 1909-1913
28.Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921
29.Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-1923
30.Calvin Coolidge, 1923-1929
31.Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-1933
32.Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-1945
33.Harry S. Truman, 1945-1953
34.Dwight David Eisenhower, 1953-1961
35.John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-1963
36.Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-1969
37.Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-1974
38.Gerald Rudolph Ford, 1974-1977
39.James Earl Carter, Jr., 1977-1981
40.Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-1989
41.George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993
42.William Jefferson Clinton, 1993-2001
43.George Walker Bush, 2001-2009
44.Barack Hussein Obama, 2009-

Read More

'Obama victory is not best news for outsourcing'

The re-election of US President Barack Obama is not the best news for IT outsourcing industry, according to CEO of iGATE, Phaneesh Murthy.  Not the best news for India or the IT outsourcing industry. However, we need to understand how much of the election rhetoric continues into 2013 and that will determine the full implications to us, Murthy said.

 The concern over the deficit and jobs will continue (in the US) and in my mind, will force the sluggishness to remain in the economy, he said.
 Obama today won a second term in office overcoming a stiff initial challenge from his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
 Obama in this presidential elections campaign had criticised outsourcing of jobs to countries like India saying that US needs to create jobs locally.
 The US and Europe account for over 80 per cent of revenues of the Indian IT industry.

Read More