Cross-Cultural Blog

I agree, people and Arabs are all waiting in anticipation for the US candidate Barak Obama to win the elections to change the world and change their lives. Being an African American with Kenyan origins and an Islamic background and name raised Arabs expectations for a possible improvement in the middle-east peace process. After his nomination, Obama declared that Israel best interest is his priority and he emphasized the fact that he is Christian because after the 9/11 events, Arab Muslims have become Americas enemies. This was a little bit disappointing to most Arabs, but they understand that Obama will do what it takes him to do to win the elections. However, disappointed Arabs must know that with Obama as a president, things will eventually be far better off than Bush or McCain because Bush rule was characterized by war against Iraq and Iran and McCain is an extension of Bush’s era but I think that Obama is really willing to change.
Sandra Ahmed

John McCain, and Barack Obama perceive the poverty issue differently. Actually, Obama is very concerned about poor, but McCain is very much concerned about the upper class of the society.
Obama’s approach for the poor is to fix for them inner-city neighborhoods. Which he thinks that by that he will creat a pleasant enviromnet that can help an individual to work and live life happily and comfortably in his life.

On the other hand, McCain’s plan, he created a million housing for the working families.In which he perceive that it will be a cause to them to flourish their city state and have a well educated citiznes. Hence, there will be more job opportunities which job opportuities will be more available for the poor. As a result, the state will foster the economic integration.
The problem in McCain’s approach is that the people who were given the money to go to the middle class areas, did not receive any raise in salaries after they moved. The girls were the only people who were much better as they made new subculturles; on the other hand, boys are worse and male criminality rose.
Thus, Obama’s approach, he builds it in a place called “Harlem Children’s Zone”, what he calls “an all-encompassing, all-hands-on-deck anti-poverty effort.” Where he cares about the children, marriage counseling, schools and job opportunities and etc.
The problem in Obama’s approach is that there are 4,000 community development corporations around the country and they do nothing for the poor places next to their doors.
Last but not least, Obama’s program is be much better for the poor because has tremerndous advantages for the poor. Obama seems to have a better feel for the poverty issre. It’s not the solution for poverty, but maybe we can say that it is a reveal of awareness for supple forces that can’t be measured and seen.

I think the main way in which both candidates addressed the issue of poverty was through their tax policies. McCain's tax plan focused on returning money to the people who made it, whereas Obama's highlighted a graduated tax plan that would tax more on higher incomes. But both candidates ended up reducing their tax policies to sound-bytes that didn't give voters much more information than that, even during the presidential debates.

I really liked the comment made earlier about considering poverty a problem in the richest country in the world. As a US citizen, I've been cynical about the US economy for as long as I can remember. This country has accumulated a lot of wealth, and it's really sad that we can't figure out how to solve the most basic problems with the resources we have.

I agree that Obama focuses his campaign more on poverty than McCain does, but it is not correct to say that McCain does not address it at all; he just does so under a different umbrella, as his social upbringing and ethnicity forces him to do so. As a white, upper-class American, McCain does not appeal as much to the impoverished community as Obama does. Instead, McCain addresses the issue by "fighting for the working class citizens." This is his way of tackling the issue while appealing to those like himself. Obama, on the other hand, can explicitly tackle poverty due to his humble background and his minority status. Impoverished Americans, and impoverished nations throughout the world, can therefore relate more to Obama in a time when poverty is a key issue. This gave Obama a clear advantage, and his landslide victory is proof of it.

I believe that McCain did not give much attention to the issue of poverty in the United States because McCain comes from a rich background, therefore, in his life he has not been much in touch with low and middle class people. On the other hand, Obama comes from a poor background and being in touch with the low and middle class people, he knows that the rate of poverty is rising rapidly in the United States and that these poor people are really sufering and no one is caring about them. Therefore, Obama lists the issue of poverty as one of his top priorities that he must solve as a president of the United States by raising the income of the the low and middle class workers and providing them with health insurances.

i can see that mentioning the issues of poverty could be one of the leading topics to Obamas victory. it's simply because the poor and middle classes shape a very high percentage of the American population which means greater voting power. Obama used the current economic crisis wisely by showing awareness
and care for the poor, and he seemed to be the poor rescuer from the American economic crisis .
on the other side, McCain i wonder why he didn't use such a strategy
lately TWENTY MILLION American employees have been FIRED due to bank corruptions and others. and the verse of "the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer" will seem to be true the coming days.
so is Obama really going to adjust the crisis somehow ?

It is unfair to suggest that McCain does not address the issue of poverty on his website. He does, but in a less obvious way than Obama, and this is primarily due to the different ideologies of the two parties. Obama and the Democratic party advocate a more hands-on approach to poverty, urging that more programs be established to directly provide the poor with better resources. McCain and the Republican party, on the other hand, believe in a more indirect approach, reasoning that increased incentives for the middle and upper class will strengthen the economy. When the economy is strong, they reason, the lower class receives a boost.

Obama's plan for poverty probably resonates more with the lower class because it suggests immediate, direct action. McCain's ideas for dealing with poverty revolve more around strengthening the economy as a whole and thus do not lend themselves as well to urgent quotes and mantras.

It is true that McCain does not directly focus on the issue of poverty because he is attemtping to appease and attract his voter group, namely upper-class citizens. He of course does include policy related to poverty, but he does so in a way that shows that one will not lose their hard-earned income just to help support the less fortunate. He makes a claim for less government intervention and states that no one should be robbed of the money that they worked so hard to accumulate. He emphasizes this by constantly stating that he will not raise taxes, the taxes that would partly go to helping poor neighborhoods and the citizens within him. It's not surprising that he takes this approach since he is an extremely wealthy republican. He makes a point not to mention "poverty" because that instills an image of poor, dying children starving without shelter or other basic needs. Instead he draws in the voter by mentioning "lower taxes" and more money for the individual in the hope of tempting them with the thought of more money and luxuries for themselves. He is appealing to the more selfish nature in each person.

Obama on the otherhand is addressing more people within the middle and lower-class. One of Obama's biggest support groups was that of college students, who often don't work and have little experience with taxes and the effects that taxes will have on them. Obama speaks to a more ideological audience who have hope for the future and believe that if everyone chips in then the issue of poverty won't be such a devastating one. He makes a point not to mention in as much detail his increase on taxes. Unlike McCain, he spoke more about the outcome, less poverty, rather than the means, his tax plan. Both candidates unsurprisingly spoke to their strengths rather than possible weaknesses. I agree that it was heavily dependent on the audience and what approach would best bring in new voters.

Barak Obama won the elections to become the 44th American president. Barak Obama differs in many ways from all other US presidents. There are some unconventional characteristics in his profile.

Obama is only 46 years old which made him the youngest candidate for 2008 presidency. Obama is also a first-term senator with just two years’ service. His father is black, making Obama the only black president ever in the history of the United States. Obama’s middle name means “the good, handsome one,” is of Arab origin, making him the only US president connected to anything Middle Eastern or Arab, although his father is actually Kenyan. Obama was raised by his step father who is an Indonesian Muslim. Obama went to a Muslim school in Indonesia although he insists that he is a Christian and that he never practiced Islam.

This different background is appealing to Arabs who think that his background and characteristics will make him keen to solve the Palestinian conflicts and bring peace to this side of the world. However, the Middle East conflict is not the first item on Obama’s agenda. The financial crisis comes first in the priority list followed by war over terrorism for which Obama promised to build the strongest undefeatable army in the world.

Six weeks to go before Obama starts his challenging job as the President of the United States. It remains to be seen that Obama and his new team will be able to change the world for better.

I have never imagined America could also be a victim of poverty. However, everybody is susceptible and America is no exception. But the only different thing about this country compared to others is, it seems it can recover faster. They have survived the 1920 Depression and they can do it again....

Obama does not fail to repeat these words throughout his speech which emphasizes their emotional effect