What a win in South Carolina means janvier 26 2008
Publié par Pierrick Leurent in : In English/ En Anglais , 3commentaires
Voici le deuxième article en anglais. Une rapide analyse des enjeux de l’élection primaire d’aujourd’hui en Caroline du Sud. By David Schuld*. No matter how many times the Democratic candidates say their campaigns are ‘color blind’, the democratic primaries race in South Carolina is important for just that reason – race.
South Carolina has by far the largest African American population of any state which has conducted their primary so far (29 percent, or roughly 1.2 million people). Firmly loyal to the Democratic Party since John F. Kennedy, African Americans in South Carolina will be the first major indicator on where African Americans in general stand in terms of the 2008 campaign. South Carolina, however, is only a small piece of the pie of delegates that both main candidates, Clinton and Obama, are appealing for support from, and both candidates are already focusing their resources on bigger states…
Political pundits in the states have already called South Carolina for Obama, but as New Hampshire illustrated, the fortune-telling by poltical observers of this campaign season can be unreliable. (more…)
The American primaries showed increasing interest in Obama and Clinton in France janvier 14 2008
Publié par Pierrick Leurent in : In English/ En Anglais , 2commentairesFrom now on, I’ll try to write each month an article in English for those who live in the US or for readers living in France and who cannot understand French. This month article is the English version of an interview of Eleanor Beardsley, an American journalist living in Paris.
The American primaries started on January the 3rd with the caucus in Iowa. On the Democratic side, Obama’s surprising victory followed by Clinton’s “come back” in New Hampshire (when all the polls showed Obama would win) were extensively covered by the French media. Eleanor Beardsley, an American journalist in Paris for National Public Radio, gave her opinion on the first days of the primaries.
“If any candidate wins both Iowa and New Hampshire, so far, it has always been the winner of the primary elections.” This is how Eleanor Beardsley, a journalist for National Public Radio in Paris, summed up what is at stake in the first two primaries which took place last week in two small northern states in the US. The first primary elections – which decide who will be candidate for both the Republican and the Democratic party in the forthcoming presidential election – have a strong impact on the following primaries.
“If Barack Obama had won in New Hampshire”, she said, “Hillary Clinton would have been out.” The importance of these two small states, which are not even representative of the American population, is, surprisingly, increasing. For Eleanor, “it’s a media thing : Iowa moved their caucus closer to New Hampshire every four years and finally moved it before.” Furthermore, the government allows the polls to be published when people are still voting, which interferes with the votes. (more…)
