As the American political arena rolls down to the presidential elections due in November of this year, observers from around the world are experiencing a spectacle of contention among what some Americans refer to as “presidential wannabees”. And in the meantime, without a doubt, the Democratic occupant of the office, while not eligible for office again, must have an interest in who might be his successor, at least within the Democratic fold; and he must be contemplating the extent to which he may, or may not, choose to have a substantial role as the situation evolves.
At the same time, well distant as the outcome of these matters would seem to be from our own preoccupations in Guyana and the Caricom arena, we almost cannot, particularly in these times of instantaneous global television, resist the temptation to follow events day by day, as the electoral process rolls down to the end of the year.
Caricom citizens will already be surveying the field of candidates, and trying to decide which individual, from which of the two major parties, might have a substantial view of the world that is understanding of the interests of the people of the Caricom region as part of the Western hemisphere; and beyond that, of the issues beyond our hemisphere into the wider Third World.
At this point, it is probably fair to assume that the interest of people, and certainly the governments, of our Region should lie in making at least a preliminary and ongoing assessment of which of the individuals tentatively seeking the candidature of either the Democratic or Republican parties, would, on their past records, have shown any empathy for the interests of the Caricom countries, and indeed for the development perspectives in a hemisphere that we share with the United States.
On the Democratic side, there has been, for some time now, almost an inevitability that Hillary Clinton would present herself to the electorate, not simply as one who has had a close association with the environment of government as a resident of the White House with her husband Bill Clinton, but more particularly as an individual, braving the almost inevitable challenges of a feminine candidacy, who has served as a Senator in the American government system.
That she finds herself faced with a perhaps unexpected challenge from Senator Bernie Sanders from the state of Vermont, appears to have come as something of a surprise. And this has now increased by the fact that among Democratic and other potential voters, he seems to be presenting a challenge focused on the interests and perspectives of the mass of American citizens concerned with seeking more visible representation from the next President on behalf of the wide arena of the middle and lower classes.
In response, she has found that she cannot only rely on the record of her husband and the wider Democratic party in government, for support from the middle and lower classes of the American society; or even the record of the Democratic incumbent President Obama from whom, in the traditions of American electoral politics, she seems to feel she has to somewhat distance herself. Yet, given the political base of Obama, she recognizes that he will have a major influence in holding the substantial black, and perhaps even liberal, vote in the Democratic Party, on her side.
The Republican Party has, in this period, found itself almost bemused in having to deal with the entry into the arena of one who can be described as a political outsider ‒ the unapologetic billionaire businessman Donald Trump. He has essentially proceeded to describe himself as within the Republican fold, while paying scant regard to its record, or for initial support of the Republican grandees, the traditional political power-brokers of that party.
For a while Trump has been able to maintain that stance of representing the Republicans while autonomously running his campaign. He has paid scant regard to Republican contenders with a record of political representation and activity in the Congress, or at the state level. Instead, he has sought to disparage his opponents, with scant regard for their traditional records as active Republicans at the state and national level, whether they be Senators Cruz and Marco Rubio, or Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey with a record of activity within the federal government.
This distinguishes him from the Republican Senator Barry Goldwater who ran against Lyndon Johnson while simultaneously holding a position on federal governance radically different from the traditional Republican record. And it is probably fair to say that Trump feels that his direct non-traditional appeal to the voters of the Republican party, showing almost scant regard for elements of its record, including that on foreign affairs, may well appeal to an electorate which he believes feels their country has lost its international influence, as well as the prospect of an economy that can sustain itself over prolonged periods of time.
Trump’s attitude seems to have left some of his opponents trying to catch up with him, given that none of them has really, as yet, had a substantial record in federal or state government. And it is not surprising that former New York City Mayor Bloomberg, an acknowledged successful businessman and financier, and former Mayor of New York, seems now to be contemplating mounting a challenge to Trump.
The party conventions, and the consequent political platforms of both the Democratic and Republican parties are now awaited with great interest. We are yet to see the involvement of President Obama in the evolving campaign. And more importantly from our location, we are yet to hear the perspectives of the various candidates vis-à-vis the kemisphere of which we are a part, fascinated as the Americans are, at present, with the events particularly in the Middle East as those draw the Great Powers, yet again, into that sphere.
