Observations on the Upcoming Election

"So what do you think of George Bush?" This is the leading question I hear this morning from the owner of a local falekoloa (tiny corner store where you stand outside and they pass you stuff through a window, lots of them here.) It is a question I hear often.

I give the usual neutral response. 'He has good intentions. Probably time for a change.'

In general everything about the US is viewed favorably here. They wonder why so many Americans don't respect GWB. I just don't want to get into it.

'What about the election?' We have another long discussion. Tongans, and perhaps most of the world, are baffled by the US primary system. They keep expecting the election to be over. I explain that we are really just selecting the candidates to run in the election, and the real election won't happen until November.

'What about Obama?" People here like Obama, largely because of his color. They are skeptical that the US would elect a person of color. I tell them the truth: "People in the US really like him, but no one knows what he stands for yet."

"How about Hillary?" - I respond that she is not liked as a person but controls vast amounts of money and has many powerful friends.

I advise that there are major elections this week in the states. That should shake out who the eventual candidates might be.

Why is this curious? Because everyone here, at least in the capital, knows all about the US elections and the candidates BUT THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE TONGAN ELECTIONS.

We are scheduled to have two days of elections here. April 23 the Nobels elect their representatives to parliament. The next day the commoners elect theirs. This will be the first election since the 'Pro Democracy' Riots of 16/11 (Nov 16 2006).

My friend tries to pull me into a discussion of democracy. He is against it.

Again I give him the simple truth - 'That is an issue for Tongans to resolve.' I am sure not gonna get into the middle of that. The last thing needed is outsiders influencing the evolving politics here.

It will be an interesting time. There is no discussion of the elections on the radio and the few editorials I have seen are on web sites hosted outside the country. When someone calls in to a talk show on the radio and brings up politics he gets cut off immediately. Can you imagine local talk radio that isn't allowed to discuss politics?

There is a lot to discuss here. Suppression of the press (government lawsuits), allegations of corruption by Cabinet Ministers, confusion as to who IS the current Minister of Finance?, court cases against rioters, charges of sedition. You get the point - a lot going on to talk about.

Next time you wonder about how f'd up the US system is. And there is no doubt it is pretty confusing and messed up, remember that you are allowed to hear directly from the candidates as well as the biased or unbiased (your opinion) commentary from CNN, FOX, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Moore, Barbara Streisand, etc.

Be thankful. A large part of the rest of the world does not have the same privileges.