Dear Reader
As Global Finance was going to press, the US presidential election race was entering the home stretch.According to most opinion polls, the two contenders, George W. Bush and John Kerry, were running neck and neck. Both sides were pulling out all the stops to try to help their candidate win; both were enlisting resources from far beyond the realm of traditional electioneering in a bid to swing the vote.
One thing is already certain: The election process has been good for democracy in America. Painful, but good.Voter registrations have skyrocketed, interest in the elections is higher than it has been for years, and the country that is intent on exporting democracy around the world is finally showing that it, too, can have open, inclusive,democratic elections.There have been plenty of allegations of dirty tricks, particularly surrounding the registration of voters in heavily Democratic areas, but the fact that this came to light before rather than after polling day is heartening. At the same time, many Americans now know they cannot trust their media to be unbiased.That realization can only be a good thing.With any luck,it will drive the people of America to question their news sources, and perhaps even seek sources from outside their country. So even if the country finds itself with an
inward-focused, isolationist administration, its people, at least, will be more aware than ever that there is a big world out there, and America is playing a major role in it.
One thing is already certain: The election process has been good for democracy in America. Painful, but good.Voter registrations have skyrocketed, interest in the elections is higher than it has been for years, and the country that is intent on exporting democracy around the world is finally showing that it, too, can have open, inclusive,democratic elections.There have been plenty of allegations of dirty tricks, particularly surrounding the registration of voters in heavily Democratic areas, but the fact that this came to light before rather than after polling day is heartening. At the same time, many Americans now know they cannot trust their media to be unbiased.That realization can only be a good thing.With any luck,it will drive the people of America to question their news sources, and perhaps even seek sources from outside their country. So even if the country finds itself with an
inward-focused, isolationist administration, its people, at least, will be more aware than ever that there is a big world out there, and America is playing a major role in it.
Dan Keeler
dan@gfmag.com
