Midterm elections

This week has been an interesting week politics wise because of the midterm elections - an event I always look forward to. I know this isn't strictly a politics blog but as a keen enthusiast of American politics, I felt it appropriate to blog about the midterms. Occasionally I will blog about something political but it will mainly be about my experiences in France.

This was the first election since I began following American politics where I endorsed neither party. I felt I couldn't endorse the Democrats because they've done very little in Congress during the last 4 years, were absolutely disgraceful in their treatment of Hillary Clinton during the primaries, weren't bipartisan despite promising to be so & weren't vigorous enough on key political issues like healthcare. On  the other hand, the Republicans haven't offered a viable, appropriate alternative, have no positive vision for the country & I still disagree with them on several key issues. So the verdict the American people gave, I believe was.... appropriate! They gave Obama a thumping which he rightly deserved in  the House but it wasn't an enthusiastic endorsement of the Republican Party either. I believe that the Republicans could have taken the Senate too, had they selected more moderate candidates.I'm hoping that by losing the House, it will encourage the president to work more closely with & cooperate with the Republicans to ensure the best compromises for America. Lets hope its like 1994!

The Tea Party movement really did do terribly. They tried to put some very interesting and particularly women candidates to try and capture the women's vote but failed miserably. Tea Party darlings like Sharon Angle, Carly Fiorina & of course the infamous Christine O'Donnell all failed in their attempts to get into the Senate despite the former 2 running against very unpopular incumbents. Sarah Palin thinks it was a great night for her & her movement but the Republican Party desperately needs to find a more moderate candidate to present to the electorate in 2012. If I had to put money on the presidential election right now, I predict that President Obama will be re-elected by a comfortable margin, possibly even a landslide.

I was particularly thrilled to see that Nikki Haley was elected Governor of South Carolina. She's an Indian-American whose parents hail from Amritsar and is actually orignally from my ancestral village Pandori Ran Singh. Her family's story is incredibly inspirational and gives me hope in the UK that perhaps one day an ethnic minority could become Prime Minister. Although I disagree with Governor-elect Haley on a number of issues, her victory is a win for Indians overseas & I wish her all the very best of luck!

So now we start looking towards 2012- thats all from me today,  I promise to blog soon about ma vie française!