FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo "Jun" Policarpio




THE CHARACTER NOT THE MONEY IN REAL AMERICAN POLITICS


The victory of two men, Republican Mike Huckabee and Democrat Barack Obama, in yesterday's Iowa Caucuses for this year's presidential nomination so stunned the whole world that even veteran political analysts and commentators looked in disbelief. Bill Kristol, neoconservative editor of the Weekly Standard that is noted for being an influential Washington-based political magazine and Sean Hannity, a Fox News conservative political commentator appeared to have lost their credibility and expertise by underestimating Huckabee who was outspent by his closest rival, Romney, 20 to 1.


Obama whose African father is from Kenya and whose Caucasian mother is from Kansas broke the racial barrier in politics and beat a well-funded Hillary Clinton machinery operated by veteran political operatives some of whom are known to be unscrupulous.. So he needed to spend more than his rivals in order to get his message across the state. At any rate, Obama's win in a state populated by approximately 95 % White leaves an indelible mark in the history of Blacks in America as he even punctuated it in his victory speech, "They said this day would never come."


Despite its small size in area and population, Iowa's geographical location in Middle America makes it most representative of what the United States is about – its needs and aspirations. Iowa's caucuses though somewhat complicated measure more effectively the will of the American electorate t so that well-funded candidates such as Romney, Obama, and Clinton pumped tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds.


Political pundits love to describe Mike Huckabee as a candidate who "came for nowhere" and won. It's because of his lack of adequate resources, particularly campaign funds, to launch a statewide drive to get votes. Political observers said he resorted to what they call "retail politics" by communicating his message and political agenda to small groups in exchange of television advertisements. While his wealthy rival Romney had already spent more than 17 million dollars of his own money, he was reported to have spent only about $350,000 in campaign donations. And then came the unexpected a few weeks before the caucuses: he overtook Romney in the polls and became the frontrunner.


After being a longshot candidate due to lack of funds, Mike Huckabee's win is best characterized by another rival, Sen. John McCain, in plain words: "You cannot buy an election in Iowa." The former governor of Arkansas and former Southern Baptist Pastor definitely won the Republican caucuses on his message of hope for a better America by CHANGING THE STATUS QUO and going back to basic American values where our country, the United States of America, was founded.


REPEAT: THE NAME OF THE NEXT AMERICAN PRESIDENT ENDS IN A VOWEL-
A CONTEST OF TWO CANDIDATES WITH FUNNY NAMES




Somebody commented in my blog, junpoli.blogspot.com, that the only vowel he wants to see at the end of the next American president's name is A. Surely this voter would be disappointed because two vowels such as EE is STRONGER better than a single A. Now you know who I predict to be the next president of the United States, HUCKABEE.






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junpolicarpio@gmail.com