The shot most of us saw as George Bush gave his second inaugural speech had John Kerry in the background. The expression on his face was one of respect and understanding. The contest was over and now, even though he fought tooth and nail to remove Bush from office, he no doubt conceded that, at the end of the day, his ticket was not convincing enough for him to be standing at the lectern that day. Essentially, the battle was over who could aggregate the greatest interest in a plan that could satisfy the electoral needs, not between two individuals looking to feed their egos and those of their cronies.
In fact, ex-presidents Clinton and Carter and even senator Kerry, still, even in defeat, represent the USA and what it stands for, both at home and abroad. Dedicating one’s life to the public interest and the promotion of common values continues to occupy them to the extent that those whom they fought in elections often assign them the role of envoys.
There is mutual respect
In Lebanon, as the election build-up gathers momentum and with a new election law on trial, candidates are starting to show their colors at public appearances, accepting wedding invitations and unexpectedly attending funerals of “close friends”, in a bid to improve their chances at the ballot box. While all politicians need exposure at election time, the current crop of Lebanese candidates cannot back up the schmoozing with a coherent political vision. Swinging from left to right like a wayward pendulum, they have no idea what they stand for and find it almost impossible to present a mandate to their electorate and succeed only in insulting the intelligence of the people they seek to represent.
What is more offensive is the amount of hatred they reserve for each other. Their campaigns revolve more around how much pain they can inflict on the other during and after the elections and at times they seem no more eloquent that traditional story tellers of old, labeling any opponent an enemy of the state, a status automatically conferred upon him, if he is defeated.
However, the only enemy of the state is their ignorance.
