Regardless of what one may say, the American election campaign has something reassuring about it. Certainly, the grumpiest might still lament the vacuity of these huge electoral shows, mock the “glitz and balloon drops” of popular meetings, or condemn the exorbitant amounts of financial spending underpinning the nomination of candidates from the two traditional parties.
However, the conduct of these primaries offers a fantastic lesson to all those countries that like to target the United States. Russia obviously comes to mind. What a striking contrast indeed with the presidential elections set to take place on March 2nd in the Federation. So much so that Russians are more passionate about the overseas campaign than their own. On the Russian side, the scenario is swiftly outlined: the results of this crucial electoral consultation have been known for months. So certain of his “success,” the protégé designated by Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, refuses to partake in any televised debates, despite them being a no-risk endeavor: all declared opponents, including former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, have been excluded from the competition, and the television stations are sufficiently under state control to prevent any mishaps. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, a European entity within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) tasked with monitoring elections in the “old continent,” even threw in the towel due to the “restrictions imposed” by a paranoid Kremlin. They limited the number of observers to 75 for a territory that spans 17 million km² and only authorized their deployment three days before the vote. The OSCE had already boycotted the Russian legislative elections of December 2007 for similar reasons. And if there were still doubts about who will lead Russia tomorrow, Vladimir Putin has solemnly presented his “political strategy for 2020” before national and regional political leaders of the Federation. Under these conditions, what credibility can be given to the voting operations?
Elections in the United States are thereby imbued with even more value. Perhaps America is never quite so “American,” perhaps it never offers the world the best of itself as when it has to choose its leader and, with him – or her – a policy whose global influence, whether one likes it or not, is undisputed. Aware of this international responsibility, the American people take this opportunity to publicly debate all sorts of issues, renewed and intensified at each electoral stage of this race to the White House: cost and effectiveness of the war in Iraq, strategy towards Iran, implementation of social coverage, economic concerns. An article from The New York Times even reports on the major comeback in the campaign of “Think tanks,” those “idea reservoirs” where future U.S. policies, notably in the field of foreign policy, are developed in a spirit of exchange and pluralism.
In this atmosphere of abundant freedom, the competition within the Democratic camp between a woman and an African-American sends not the slightest signal to the planet about this capacity for openness and renewal of the political personnel. Facing the Vietnam veteran or the former Baptist pastor, conservative Republicans and guardians of tradition, the former First Lady of the United States combines an image of experience and restraint in expression while Barack Obama embodies, through his more enthusiastic speeches, the prospect of a profound change in America. Unlike the electoral situation in Russia, Americans will have to make a choice and this choice will, moreover, be far from insignificant in its consequences.
The democratic spirit in these American elections is also about unpredictability. “Super Tuesday” was supposed to clarify the Democratic race; it was on the Republican side that it became clear. Deemed decisive, the vote of the 24 American states involved in the February 5th day was also supposed to render the others non-competitive: in fact, the twenty or so states awaiting primaries will decide the candidates for the November election. Ultimately, if no candidate managed to win on this “Super Tuesday,” there was at least one big winner: democracy.
