Rishon Rishon

Some perspective on the election

I’ve been reading a lot about the US election in the last few days, precious little of it showing much perspective. So, I’d like to say a few words.

First of all, Bush’s 3% margin of victory is a good solid win in a functioning democracy. Not a landslide, but a good, healthy margin. Landslides should be rare for the simple reason that a democracy has to provide the voters with a choice in order to work properly. Frequent landslides are a sign that the system isn’t working properly, and is not giving voters a choice. But a 3% margin is easily enough to make abundantly clear which side won. The fact that Bush got an absolute majority of an exceptionally large turnout should only emphasize that fact.

On the other hand, a 3% margin is small enough that it could easily have turned out otherwise. It is ridiculous to assign the victory to a single factor – any one of a large number of things could have turned the election.

One of the great things about the US electoral system is that even small majorities produce strong governments. (In Israel this isn’t true.) I hope Bush uses his well. Bush has clearly laid out his approach to governance, and clearly communicated to the electorate who he is. Details, of course, will change according to changing circumstances.

Let me take advantage of this opportunity to say what I think is highest priority: Take out Iran’s nuclear program. It shouldn’t be too hard. No need to risk American lives in a ground war, the objective isn’t to occupy territory, or even to overthrow a government. If the government falls, well, that’s an added bonus. If, instead, it’s strengthened by Iranians rallying around their flag, well, it’s worth it. (Actually, I think that Bush is canny enough to attack Iran in a way that will strengthen the opposition. But we’ll see, I hope.)

Let’s roll!