The prospective candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties started their campaign for seeking the nomination for the four-year term of the US Presidency in 2007. The candidates of other small parties and independent candidates also threw their hats into the presidential election ring. The unpopular Bush and Cheney were not running for the Presidency of the United States. Bush, who was ineligible for the presidency after completing his two terms, did not have a choice. Cheney, who has a heart condition, declined earlier and stated that he was not interested in becoming the President of the United States. This is the first time in 60 years that a sitting President or a Vice President was not running for the Presidency. The field was wide open.
Political maneuvering, dirty tricks, half truths, scare tactics and other weapons of misinformation and disinformation were very much used by the Republican Party during the US Presidential campaign of 2008 to defeat the opponent. As soon as Barack Hussein Obama won the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency, the political extremists, neoconservatives and mud slingers from the Republican Party started the smear campaign of worst kind in recent memory against him.
Each of the top two contenders continued to make promises and urged the people to vote for them. The Bush & Cheney era had seen erosion of the civil liberties and civil rights of the people in America, invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the astounding costs of the Iraq occupation. The direct effect was collapse of the economic base, upheaval and collapse of the real estate market, increase in unemployment and failures of businesses and top banks in the US. This triggered global economic crisis which engulfed entire humanity.
John McCain, the Republican nominee for the Presidency took the low road, abandoned his last vestiges of decency and made attempt to connect race and terror on a subliminal level in his advertising and campaign by engaging in racist hate speeches. Baseless assertions were hurled at Barack Hussein Obama accusing him of misrepresenting his ethnicity. Continued repetition of baseless smear that Obama is an Arab was aimed at the ignorant and naive Americans to urge them not to vote for Barack Hussein Obama. This opened the floodgates of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiments during this highly charged election season. At the same time the high level of ignorance about Islam and Arabs, by the disseminators of hatred and intolerance, brought the Tsunami of hatred towards Muslims and Arabs.
At one of the campaign stops, a supporter of the Republican Party openly told McCain, “I don’t trust Obama. He is an Arab.” This was the height of ignorance and the height of hatred. McCain listened to her shaking his head in approval and then took the microphone from her, “No. Ma’am,” he said, “He is a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreement with.”
The Muslims and the Arab citizens of the United States, and the Muslim and Arab members of the Republican Party were shocked by McCain’s answer.
McCain should have said, “There would be nothing wrong with being an Arab, but Obama is not,” suggested one journalist after hearing the shallow answer given by McCain. The way McCain said it strongly implied that he had a low opinion of Arabs. Disinformation, misinformation and ignorance played a great part in McCain’s answer that reflected his desire to win the presidency at any cost.
Now this is the story of an American, a US citizen and an individual, a voter, who knows that he can wield his voting power to elect a better candidate to the highest office in the land. He kept on thinking about the tough campaigning going on between McCain and Obama. On Election Day, November 4, 2008, he drove his car to the polling station, parked his car and walked into the designated area reserved for voting in the polling station. After required formalities he was handed over the ballot paper, which he took into the polling booth.
He glanced at the names for the president on the ballot and stopped at the name Ralph Nader. He remembered that he had heard of Ralph Nader more than 20 years ago. He also remembered Nader had made his announcement in February 2008 saying that he is entering the presidential race as an independent candidate to put an end to the ‘paralysis of the government’ in Washington which was under the control of corporate executives and lobbyists. Nader’s record includes serving the people of the United States, bringing about stricter protection for food and water. Nader had also fought vigorously against corporate control over Washington. Many people had said that Ralph Nader is the only ‘true’ American running for president. During the campaign speeches, Obama once said, “Nader is a singular figure in American politics and has done as much as just about anyone for consumers.”
Ralph Nader, an Arab, a consumer advocate, who single-handedly fought the U.S. auto industry for the production of safer cars was on the ballot. Ralph Nader, an Arab, an American running for president.
As a member of the Republican Party he had received many letters from McCain. The Republican Party also kept on sending him letters and informing him of the achievements of Bush. He received testimonials from other republicans urging him to vote for McCain. He also received letters from extremists, fear mongers and conservative Republicans who argued that if McCain is not elected, the United States will see another catastrophe like the September 11. He knew that this is the time to pay back to McCain and the Republican Party by using his voting power. He again, visually, checked the names and made his decision. He voted for Nader. Then, he picked up the ballot paper, placed it in the jacket provided for the ballot and handed it over to the polling officer to be checked and dropped in the ballot box. He left the polling station and walked towards his car to go home.