It's taking Arafat forever to die. I have come to the conclusion that this situation is not bad at all. It's so absurd that it's immensely entertaining. Arafat is just about dead, but the Palestinians won't say so, despite the fact that they're already preparing for his burial. The Palestinian leadership is bickering with Suah Arafat. The French made a gesture of friendship by accepting the Ugliest Leader Ever as their patient, and got stuck knee deep in Palestinian politics and power struggles.
I know it isn't nice to gloat. But I am. So sue me.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Return of the Flash
While Barak Obama was busy winning a Senate seat in IL, another Barak from another place with the postal code IL was busy making a comeback. Ehud Barak, who disappeared like a flash of lightening (which, by the way, is what Barak means in Hebrew) when he lost to Ariel Sharon in 2001, is now going to run for chairman of the Labor Party and its candidate for Prime Minister in the next elections (which are scheduled for two years from now, but will probably be held earlier).
I voted for Barak in 2001. Had he stayed in the Knesset opposition after his failure, I would have probably supported him again. But he left and, much like Benjamin Netanyahu had done when Barak defeated him, spent most of his time abroad as a lecturer and consultant. He made some serious mistakes as PM, but when he temporarily abandoned politics he gave up a chance to rectify his mistakes.
It seems the contenders for the chairmanship of Labor will be:
I voted for Barak in 2001. Had he stayed in the Knesset opposition after his failure, I would have probably supported him again. But he left and, much like Benjamin Netanyahu had done when Barak defeated him, spent most of his time abroad as a lecturer and consultant. He made some serious mistakes as PM, but when he temporarily abandoned politics he gave up a chance to rectify his mistakes.
It seems the contenders for the chairmanship of Labor will be:
- Shimon Peres - the 81 year old eternal chairman. Time for him to go.
- Ehud Barak
- Amir Peretz - the closest thing to a Bolshevik the Labor Party has seen lately. He's the head of Israel's strongest workers' union, with a far-left social and economic stance. He'd be a horrible PM, and I believe most Israelis know this. Labor would crash even harder with him at the helm.
- Benjamin Ben-Eliezer - the former Minister of Defense. He's a moderate, but I don't think he'd be a good chief executive.
- Matan Vilnai - my favorite. Though I don't like retired generals going into politics, I think this retired Maj. Gen. will be the best chance for Labor to get stronger and possibly win the prime ministry. He's a centrist. That's what Israel needs.
Hillary VS Giuliani 2008
Okay. Kerry lost. It isn't the end of the world. No reason to leave the States (wait, I live in Israel anyway. But if I were living in the States, I wouldn't leave it because of the election results). I'm not too thrilled about what I think Bush will do now, but I'm not worried. The country will be okay. Let's face it. Kerry wouldn't have been such a great president anyway. I'm sure he'd be better than Bush, but he wouldn't be nearly as good as Clinton was.
Now I hope 2008 will see Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee and Rudy Giuliani as the Republican nominee. Then I'd have some serious thinking to do. That would be a great race. Unlike 2004, where it was "not good" vs "pretty bad", a race between the Mayor and Senator from New York would be a race between two very worthy candidates. If either one of them would run against some one else, I'd pick them (HRC or Rudy). But with the two of them head to head I'd have to think long and hard. Who knows. With such a matchup, maybe even NY would become a swing state.
But then again, too many people loathe Hillary Clinton, so maybe she wouldn't be such a good candidate. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson might be a good choice. Edwards wouldn't be, since he is inexperienced. Oh hell, it's much too early for such punditry.
Now I hope 2008 will see Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee and Rudy Giuliani as the Republican nominee. Then I'd have some serious thinking to do. That would be a great race. Unlike 2004, where it was "not good" vs "pretty bad", a race between the Mayor and Senator from New York would be a race between two very worthy candidates. If either one of them would run against some one else, I'd pick them (HRC or Rudy). But with the two of them head to head I'd have to think long and hard. Who knows. With such a matchup, maybe even NY would become a swing state.
But then again, too many people loathe Hillary Clinton, so maybe she wouldn't be such a good candidate. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson might be a good choice. Edwards wouldn't be, since he is inexperienced. Oh hell, it's much too early for such punditry.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
America's Day to Make a Choice
It's Election Day. I already sent in my absentee ballot a few weeks ago. I voted for John Kerry. Hopefully, so will a majority of Americans, especially in the swing states.
In my last post, I wished to wake up the next morning and hear of Arafat's death. That didn't happen (the Palestinians even claim he's recovering, though I take that with a grain of salt). Now I have a new wish for tomorrow morning, or at least tomorrow afternoon because of the time difference between Israel and the States. I hope to discover tomorrow that John Kerry won both the popular vote AND the electoral vote. My Arafat wish did not come true - maybe my Kerry wish will.
In my last post, I wished to wake up the next morning and hear of Arafat's death. That didn't happen (the Palestinians even claim he's recovering, though I take that with a grain of salt). Now I have a new wish for tomorrow morning, or at least tomorrow afternoon because of the time difference between Israel and the States. I hope to discover tomorrow that John Kerry won both the popular vote AND the electoral vote. My Arafat wish did not come true - maybe my Kerry wish will.
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