DISQUS

Mike · 1 year ago

Pretty amazing the coverage it gets in Australia. Although with more people having business ties to the U.S., the result could have greater effect on their lives than a local election.

Roger Kondrat · 1 year ago

I find your definition of "left" and "right" very curious and highly flexible. It sort of devalues the wisdom of your points by using those terms in this way.

Duncan Riley · 1 year ago

Roger
generalizations to be sure as noted in the post. But if Howard was a conservative and off the right, and Obama's policies tend to be to the right at least economically...well you can draw your own conclusions. Obviously this is an Australian context, not an American one, but vice versa, put Howard in America, and he would have been labeled a socialist...mind you, he actually was as well :-)

Kate Foy · 1 year ago

Duncan
Interesting post and of course left and right are relative terms as you note. Perhaps though easier to understand than the 'wets' and 'drys' that the Brits were using some years back. I never quite got my head around that particular bit of political jargon.

Incidentally, I've been bemused at the bogey-man status afforded 'socialism' during a lot of the comment in this US election campaign. It seemed to me that the blanket use of the term revealed a lack of understanding of the workings of contemporary western governments, where so much of society's infrastructure is necessarily 'socialised.' It begs the question of what is 'bad' per se, about socialism?

Roger Kondrat · 1 year ago

That was something I noticed as well Kate. Truely as a Canadian I watched a little horrified when they kept saying 'well thats socialism' with such contempt. I guess they are still recovering from McCarthyism.

Its sad really because Socialism isn't anything to do with Communism which it seems is what American's think when they hear the word.

steven_noble · 1 year ago

I think of Labor as the party that does in Australia what the Democrats would love to do in Australia if the voters and media would let them.

And the Republicans as the party that does in the US what Coalition would love to do in Australia if the voters and media would let them.

steven_noble · 1 year ago

Once more without typos...

I think of Labor as the party that does in Australia what the Democrats would love to do in the US if the voters and media would let them.

And the Republicans as the party that does in the US what the Liberals would love to do in Australia if the voters and media would let them.

rangerrob · 1 year ago

Just stumbled across your blog, very interesting. Will be interesting to see how the US election will play out across the globe, but I would have liked to see how our support for the US, through some testing times for Australia, over the last few years would have have paid off if Howard were still in power.

leesargent · 1 year ago

I found that to be quite enlightening actually as I hadn't thought of the parallels before. Cheers!

Findlay · 1 year ago

Sorry Duncan,
I know that you and she who must be obeyed are much smarter than I, but I cannot see Obama as anything but a real left winger.
A while back I thought that Obama may be a real inclusive sort of President, and should he be elected he may well be, but as time goes on I am less and less sure.
Cheers
Fin