IN masse, it would be hard to find a greater collection of double-dealers, money grabbers, carpet-baggers, influence-peddlers and adulterers under one roof anywhere in the world," writes Simon Hoggart of The Guardian, London, on the US Congress, the American legislature that will decide if "Slick Willy" is to be pardoned or punished. "It beggars belief that Newt Gingrich—a man who brought his wife divorce papers to sign while she was in hospital recovering from cancer—will be a central part of the process."
바카라 웹사이트From the outside, the American political system—with its dandy politicians, defection-free parties and dignified proceedings—may bring a gleam of envy to not-so-privileged countries. But on the inside, it's stuffed silly with "think global, act local" politicians, who can't look beyond their noses, and when they do, can't look beyond their constituencies. Witness how quickly they rolled back agriculture sanctions against Pakistan in spite of the N-tests, when it seemed it would hurt American interests.
Not only do domestic demands dictate foreign policy, but they also tend to send strange signals to a bewildered world. "There is a great irony in the Clinton affair, and it is this: the crisis in the American presidency matters more to the world outside the US than it does inside the country," says Michael Elliot, editor of Newsweek International.
"They will tell you time and again that theirs is the freest society in the world. Translation: everyone has the God-given right to buy hardcore pornography around the corner and everyone has the right to become a millionaire. An unhappy byproduct of this self-deception is that Americans truly believe they have the best democracy in the world," says Bhai-chand Patel, a former UN information officer. "This myth has lately taken the trappings of the most blindingly manifest of great truths. American democracy gives you the right to choose between the Republicans and the Democrats. There is no other choice. When you examine it closely, you will note that the system is one party removed from the one prevailing in China."
바카라 웹사이트So, even as Czar Starr hounds Cocky Clinton over an "inappropriate relationship" while completely ignoring the original objective of his investigation (a land deal in Whitewater, Arkansas), few barring the president's legal eagles find the voice. Reason: Congressional polls are due in November, and what they say now can (and will) be held against them then. Should Clinton be impeached? No unanimity again despite the national breastbeating. Reason: removing Clinton means replacing him with Al Gore, who will stay till the 2000 elections, and might even take the Democrats home.
Ramesh Ravella, an Indian who heads a Virginia-based software company, thinks it is the "gradual ascendancy" of the US House of Representatives over the slow-moving and methodical US Senate that has contributed to "the dumbing down of American politics". He adds: "House members run for elections every two years and are constantly in 'running mode', raising campaign funds or playing constituency politics. In contrast, the Senate is more deliberative and introspective with a more global vision."
"The American public does not care that Clinton had an affair, no one can change that. What they are being made to care about by Clinton's political foes is that he lied about it. The theory is, if he lied to everyone about this, what if he has been lying about other things—like granting missile technology to China? What if Clinton's loose idea of right vs wrong compromised US security?" asks Siddharth Mookerji, CEO of Georgia-based Software Paradigms Inc.
But while the expediencies of politicians may find some sympathy, the limited Weltanschauung of the American legislator is striking. "In the warped view of legislators, the world outside the US does not count for much," says Ravella. "Tune in to the evening news," observes Ardhanari Ramaswamy, an Indian software engineer in Washington, "and the so-called 'World News' will be devoted for the most part to US news. As long as US interests are safe or US supremacy is not at risk, Americans don't really care about what happens in other parts of the world, be they civil wars or natural disasters or terrorist attacks." Ditto and likewise for its politicians, and its polity.
