By Asmieu Bah
Exactly one week from today – 6t November 2012 – Americans will be going to the polls to elect a President and some members of Congress. They will decide whether President Barrack Obama should continue his stay in the White House or hand over to Mitt Romney the keys to one of the most recognisable places on the face of the earth. The weeks preceding the elections have seen three debates between the two presidential candidates and one between their Vice Presidential ticket mates.
Debates are meant to test the mettle of the leaders to know whether they can bear the heat in the White House. The organisers and the audience look for many things including the composure and character of the candidate. The perseverance of the leader will also be put to the test. For instance, when his opponent attacks him how will he respond.
The candidates' mannerism and body language are closely watched. So is the way they articulate their points. No wonder why they more often than not stand in front of the voters to show their humility to the masses.
In the first debate between incumbent President Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney, the latter was the underdog going into the debate. The president's poor performance meant Romney gained a confidence and a
momentum he and his supporters still bask in today even after Obama overturned that in the subsequent debates. Why not? After all he was adjudged to have eclipsed the oratorical skills of one of the most gifted in recent times.
In that first debate President Obama looked exhausted, ill-prepared, lacking in confidence and too docile. After the debate it was widely argued that that was not the Obama people knew in 2008. A man who shot to the limelight as a result of his debating and oratory skills.
The penultimate debate gave Obama the opportunity to claw back the lost confidence that his supporters had reposed in and expected from him. He landed a heavy punch on Romney, restoring confidence once more in
the minds of his supporters who had almost lost morale.
The last debate focused on American Foreign Policy. For your information American foreign policy is what shapes and determines many countries’ foreign policy. The debate gave opportunity to the two contenders to
explain to the American citizens under their presidency how America would look like on the international stage. America’s foreign policy influences other countries' policies, the reason they normally say when America sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold.
The American people wanted to know about America’s role in the fledgling and emerging democracies in the Arab world after the Arab spring. The Arab-Israeli conflict that began even before Obama was born also took a centre stage during the debate. And not to forget the protracted rebel uprising in Syria.
During the campaign we saw the two men putting their points across, each of them articulating a clear cut policy as to where they want America to be after the elections. Not like in Sierra Leone where one finds it
difficult to know what the parties stand for, if anything.
According to my own reflection Mitt Romney sounded and looked hawkish pretty much like President George W. Bush – vintage Republican Party stance. Romney’s mood clearly changed when he said America under Obama had been weaker when compared to America under Bush. Romney also argued that America had fewer ships – bad for a Super Power like America. Maybe to him America is weak because at the moment they engage in fewer wars when compared to the days of George Bush when they started two wars at the same time – Afghanistan and Iraq.
His facial expression also changed when he said Obama visited the Arab World but failed to go to Israel. That was a deliberate attempt by Romney to paint Obama in a picture that would anger Israel, America’s
strongest ally, and the powerful Jewish lobby in America. If he had succeeded Obama’s chances to get the Jewish votes would have been dashed, and the Jewish American votes are crucial in the election.
Obama responded adequately by answering the question on what he would do if Israel was attacked and emphasised his commitment to stand by Israel.
One issue the American people also wanted to know was amongst the two contenders who is more charismatic. America is a proud nation on the world stage so whoever emerges as their President must have the charisma to represent them abroad. Their President is an embodiment of their being.
America is an enlightened society that will not just be carried away by flowery words, every word is analysed and discussed to make sure it represents their wishes and aspirations. Not like Sierra Leone where power seekers will even promise to build bridges where there are no rivers.
In a country where excellence is the hallmark the American people also wanted to test the intellectual ability of their President because it is only a sound mind that can produce sound policies that have the tendency to improve their lives.
During the high point of the debate Obama explained convincingly how he had served as a good Commander in Chief for the past four years that had resulted in the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the withdrawal of
troops from Iraq. The killing of Osama and the troop withdrawal are two watershed events in Obama’s presidency which he believes are enough to earn him a second term. Under his reign, he argued, America
was safer than he had met it in 2008. So far the country has not seen any internal terrorist attack since 2002.
Another interesting thing that we saw during the debate was the decorum that was exhibited by both debaters and audience. The aspirants were on stage to explain to their people what they had in store for them, whiles the people wanted to listen to everything that was being said, and not to clap or give a sycophantic standing ovation. I can still recall that SLAJ presidential debate in Lagoonda in 2007 which was rowdy and noisy. Supporters clapping even at the passing of a fly so long it was their candidate talking. Never mind how he spoke.
As a beacon of democracy America has also set another stage for countries that are preparing to have their elections. There is a deluge of good attributes that we too can learn from as we go to the polls.
Disappointingly SLAJ and its partner organisations had to take the sad decision to cancel the Presidential debate they had planned for this week because one or two of the three invited Presidential candidates decided to boycott it. I think an action like that is a disservice to us the voters. In a country where illiteracy is at its peak, debate is one way to test our power seekers to know whether they have the wherewithal to uplift the country.
Asmieu Bah is a broadcast journalist working for the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation
