Oo-Ba-Ma

During the lead up to the Parliamentary elections in Iran that happened in early March, I heard far more people discussing the US Democratic race than giving their opinion on who they would vote for in Parliament. Perhaps they thought the US race would affect their lives more in the long run than the Iranian one. Perhaps they were able to get plenty of information about the US candidates compared to the minimal coverage of elections here. Due to strict regulations on when, where and how much they can spend on a campaign, for better or worse, it seemed that people in Tehran had little clue of who they were voting for. Some followed party lines, took suggestions from those who "knew better" or went for the familiar names. In the meantime, everyone I talked to had an opinion on Hillary, McCain, and the most popular, Obama.

Oo-ba-ma. In Farsi it means "he's with us." Obama would never align himself that closely with Iranians, but people here, and all over the world for that matter, have a special affection for him. For whatever reason, (his Muslim roots, his foreign father, his message of hope and coming together, his willingness for dialogue with "enemy" nations) Iranians anticipate that unlike the aggressive policies of Bush, he will be able to open the doors for Iranians who are increasingly being cut off from the world both economically and culturally. They think that with Obama as president, as well as a less hawkish Iranian president in office after Ahmadinejad is voted out, communication and reason will once again be able to flow between Iran and the West.

Admittedly, I am also optimistic, but I don't hold my expectations too high that Obama will make things sweet and rosy between the two countries. All I hope for is some sort of dialogue that will release the pressure that people face here. Because when the US is hawkish, it gives the excuse for hawks here to clamp down on civil society, not to mention the stifling of foreign investment.

As for the few who like Hillary, they say that since she is a woman, she might force the Iranian government to accept the legitimacy of a woman's political power, and hence women here would be able to express themselves more freely. From what I've seen, I doubt that this would happen. Foreign women, according to the government, are different from Iranian women and just like Japanese girls who visit Iran and go to soccer games while Iranian girls are banned from attending, a foreign woman can become president and that will have no affect on the power of a woman here.

And McCain, well, the few, the very few, that support him, hope that he will take Iran to war eventually and drive out the clerics. Or they think that he is the only one strong enough and ruthless enough to lead a country like America. Well, he is ruthless in the cartoon villain sort of way.

It's too bad Iranians can't vote in the US presidential elections, especially since America's actions have effects far beyond its borders, it seems like most of the world has a stake in who leads the American people. As I watch the elections from across the ocean, I become increasingly on edge as I see the Democratic race being dragged out day by day. Hillary is holding on by a string, analysts had said that if she didn't win by more than 10% in Pennsylvania, she would pretty much be out of the race. She won by around 9% and yet she still holds on. By May 6th, more than likely she will be forced to step out, but her delay only gives McCain more of a foothold. This makes me worried because my biggest hope is that one day in Iran people will never again chant "Down to America" and that America will give them no reason to.

With Hillary's recent quote, it would be impossible for that to ever happen under her presidency:

“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran. In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.”

McCain has been repeatedly clear on his stance on Iran. No need to dispense one of his many quotes here.