03-02-2008, 12:02 PM
Last page of previous thread here.
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US ELECTIONS: INDIA POLICY
The Injun Incline
How do the India strategies of the US presidential hopefuls stack up? ......
Ashish Kumar Sen
* Barack Obama
Voted for killer amendments to the Hyde Act. Behind the clause asking US to urge other nations from providing nuclear fuel if it cuts off supply. Opposed outsourcing, dubbed Hillary "Democrat from Punjab".
* Hillary Clinton
The most popular candidate among Indians. Shares her husband's love for India. But she came out late in support of the nuke deal. Voted for killer amendments to the Hyde Act. Indian Muslims wary of her.
* John Mccain
Voted against killer amendments to the Hyde Act. Considered best for India's interest as he is most likely to persist with Bush's US policy. More popular among Hindus. Most doctors of Indian origin back him.
***
Months before the current race to win party nomination for contesting the US presidential election began, Illinois senator Barack Obama was considered an underdog among the Democratic Party pack. He wasn't expected to vanquish New York senator Hillary Clinton. She possessed the charisma of the Clinton name, a face already famous, a history people knew. Yet the message of hope Obama embodies in his elegant speeches has helped him tap into the nation's craving for change, enabling him to squeeze past Hillary in both the number of states and delegates won.
Yet the race for the Democratic Party nomination is still open. Should neither Obama nor Hillary reach the 2,025-delegate mark to win the nomination, their fate will be in the hands of 796 superdelegates. Drawn from a pool of party officials, elected representatives, former officials and activists, these superdelegates are free to cast their votes for either candidate at the party's convention in Denver in August.
By contrast, the Republican Party appears to have a nomineeâArizona senator John McCain, a war hero who was first elected to the US Senate in 1986. His closest rival, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, trails by a significant margin and has maths and most political pundits stacked against him. Most agree that one of the three candidatesâObama, Hillary and McCainâwill take the baton from George Bush to become the next US president.
Outlook thought the moment opportune to analyse and judge the three from the perspective of New DelhiâWho among them would best suit India's interests? The verdict depends on the answer to another question: Who among the troika can sustain the momentum in Indo-US ties?
Most Indians are likely to name Hillary, largely because her charismatic husband and former president Bill created a veritable buzz on his visit to India in 2000. Though as first lady she didn't accompany her husband, she did subsequently fly down to India with her daughter, Chelsea. Yet the advantage of her familiarity with India could be offset should she, if she is elected, bring back those officials who belong to the 1990s era when Indo-US relations were frosty. Hillary is also the Democratic co-chair of the Friends of India Caucus in the Senate. But the caucus has done little to serve its intended purpose.
Others say the best way of judging the three candidates is to scrutinise the position each took on the Indo-US nuclear deal and their voting pattern on different clauses of the Hyde Act 2006 that paved way for cooperation in civilian nuclear energy between the two countries. Hillary, for instance, supported the deal well after most of her colleagues had placed their cards on the table.
Hillary and Obama's voting records on the Hyde Act are similar. Both backed California Democratic senator Barbara Boxer's killer amendment that sought to link nuclear cooperation to India severing military-to-military ties with Iran.
-----------------------
US ELECTIONS: INDIA POLICY
The Injun Incline
How do the India strategies of the US presidential hopefuls stack up? ......
Ashish Kumar Sen
* Barack Obama
Voted for killer amendments to the Hyde Act. Behind the clause asking US to urge other nations from providing nuclear fuel if it cuts off supply. Opposed outsourcing, dubbed Hillary "Democrat from Punjab".
* Hillary Clinton
The most popular candidate among Indians. Shares her husband's love for India. But she came out late in support of the nuke deal. Voted for killer amendments to the Hyde Act. Indian Muslims wary of her.
* John Mccain
Voted against killer amendments to the Hyde Act. Considered best for India's interest as he is most likely to persist with Bush's US policy. More popular among Hindus. Most doctors of Indian origin back him.
***
Months before the current race to win party nomination for contesting the US presidential election began, Illinois senator Barack Obama was considered an underdog among the Democratic Party pack. He wasn't expected to vanquish New York senator Hillary Clinton. She possessed the charisma of the Clinton name, a face already famous, a history people knew. Yet the message of hope Obama embodies in his elegant speeches has helped him tap into the nation's craving for change, enabling him to squeeze past Hillary in both the number of states and delegates won.
Yet the race for the Democratic Party nomination is still open. Should neither Obama nor Hillary reach the 2,025-delegate mark to win the nomination, their fate will be in the hands of 796 superdelegates. Drawn from a pool of party officials, elected representatives, former officials and activists, these superdelegates are free to cast their votes for either candidate at the party's convention in Denver in August.
By contrast, the Republican Party appears to have a nomineeâArizona senator John McCain, a war hero who was first elected to the US Senate in 1986. His closest rival, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, trails by a significant margin and has maths and most political pundits stacked against him. Most agree that one of the three candidatesâObama, Hillary and McCainâwill take the baton from George Bush to become the next US president.
Outlook thought the moment opportune to analyse and judge the three from the perspective of New DelhiâWho among them would best suit India's interests? The verdict depends on the answer to another question: Who among the troika can sustain the momentum in Indo-US ties?
Most Indians are likely to name Hillary, largely because her charismatic husband and former president Bill created a veritable buzz on his visit to India in 2000. Though as first lady she didn't accompany her husband, she did subsequently fly down to India with her daughter, Chelsea. Yet the advantage of her familiarity with India could be offset should she, if she is elected, bring back those officials who belong to the 1990s era when Indo-US relations were frosty. Hillary is also the Democratic co-chair of the Friends of India Caucus in the Senate. But the caucus has done little to serve its intended purpose.
Others say the best way of judging the three candidates is to scrutinise the position each took on the Indo-US nuclear deal and their voting pattern on different clauses of the Hyde Act 2006 that paved way for cooperation in civilian nuclear energy between the two countries. Hillary, for instance, supported the deal well after most of her colleagues had placed their cards on the table.
Hillary and Obama's voting records on the Hyde Act are similar. Both backed California Democratic senator Barbara Boxer's killer amendment that sought to link nuclear cooperation to India severing military-to-military ties with Iran.