Ticket Allotment and Debates...

Hi All,

I am sure that you must have heard of the upcoming presidential race in the USA.. I have been following the race and the events leading up to it..Actually i had been doing so since the last time round when Bush and Kerry went head to head but i wasn't into blogging then...So i decided that i should write about a couple of things that have gotten my attention esp the allotment of tickets to the candidates and how the presidential candidates woo voters thru debates...

Ok coming back to the point..i was quite impressed at the level of transparency and the professionalism with which the primaries were held..candidates aspiring to run on the party ticket announce their decision and form a camp and run around the entire country to convince the party faithfuls that he/she is the right candidate for the party ticket...they can do so regardless of their gender, age, financial status, years of association with the party and its top leaders etc...

compare this with india..political parties go into a huddle months before election is announced..nominate ,mostly, the party leader as their primemisterial candidate and in case one is not available ..try to search a candidate with a good credentials(knowing fully well that they wouldnt be able to find one)and finally settle for one who is old, is the least tainted, "close" to party elders and acceptable to other coalition parties..could somebody tell me what happened to "suitability to the job", "leadership skills", "team playing abilities" "awareness of issues concerning the common man" etc...

u see there are compromises at every step...every compromise pushing the most eligible candidate further and further away and giving way for dynasty politics, nepotism and cronyism ...

now coming to the point abt debates...this one astonished me even more and completely won me over...what a way present the varying views of the candidates to the voter and let him choose who he wants...and if u had watched how the 1st debate transpired probably u will spit in the faces of Indian politicians who use their lung power to get their point home when they participate in shows like 'face the nation' and the likes...such was the decency and mutual respect for each other..when one was talking the other had his mouth SHUT...and if there was anything to rebut they just jotted it down and stated it later when given the opportunity..i guess i dont have to tell u abt their knowledge on issues..having spent months running around the country explaining their stands on various issues they certainly would have no problems in that regard...

the bottom line of the entire presidential exercise in the US is that if a candidate wishes to become the next president of the united states then he has to work for it.. meet the people, learn the issues, take appropriate stands and be prepared to justify his stand...this exercise ensures that only people who are willing to sweat it out will enter the fray and not just any tom dick and harry...and there is no place for political rhetoric..i.e.no "thanga thalaiva(golden leader)", "anja nejun(brave heart)" and crap...no place for political smears/dirty politics etc...