Friday, November 10, 2006
The Lame Duck
A couple of days ago, there was an important election in the United States. The voters elected enough Democrats to overthrow the Republicans in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Previously, both the Senate and the House were controlled by Republicans. Since George Bush is a Republican, this meant that the Republicans had almost complete control over the government.
Very generally speaking, Democrats and Republicans have different opinions about issues like the legality of abortion, social welfare, military spending, rights of homosexual people, and stem-cell research. The most important difference between the two parties now is their different opinions about the Iraq war.
When the war first started, most Democrats in the Senate and House supported it. Most Democrats later changed their minds about the war. Now, very often, Democrats oppose the war and Republicans support it.
This election shows strong unhappiness and disapproval among Americans about the war in Iraq and the George Bush presidency. George Bush has lost much power because of the election. When a president loses much power, and can't be reelected (George Bush must quit at the end of 2008), he is called a "Lame Duck" in English.
What is your opinion of the war in Iraq? What do you think about George Bush? Do you think Japan and the U.S. should continue to be such close friends?
John
# posted by John @ 9:42 AM 
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A succinct explanation of a complex subject! We are happy to have Maryland back in Democratic hands again. And with the control of Congress out of the hands of the Republicans, I hope we will see a return to a saner policy on the Iraq situation. I think Bush's presidency has resulted in America's growing unpopularity all over the world. In today's global village, that is something we cannot afford.
I heard a lot about the mid-term election since I've subscribed to CNN News Update and ABC News from Podcast on iTunes. I was almost tired of hearing the news about politics and campaigns before the election day came! However, it helped me understand partially about how the US government works and learn new words related to politics. For example suffrage, veto, bullot, and so on. Also, the influences of the result are so enormous that both Republican and Democrats have to try as hard as they can to work together. So now I guess all I can do is just wait and see what will happen next. It seemed to start with the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, but I think what they really look at is the policy, not changing the face of Secretary of Defense.
Then, the Japanese government has to start considering how this new start of the US government affects the country because there may be changes in policies like North Korea's nuclear power.
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Then, the Japanese government has to start considering how this new start of the US government affects the country because there may be changes in policies like North Korea's nuclear power.
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