"Today, I`m not so certain."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Most US political experts are expecting a close election, with the exception of former Bill Clinton adviser Dick Morris and Washington Examiner Editor Michael Baron where both have publicly announced their prediction of a landslide victory for Governor Mitt Romney.
Although the trend for the last month have been favoring Romney, especially with the recent developments of Benghazi-Gate, the Sandy hurricane story stopped the Romney surge on its track.
Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer called Barack Obama "the luckiest politician he`s ever seen". Had Sandy not occurred, a landslide victory for Romney would have been a winning bet. "Today, I`m not so certain," he said.
What is certain is that Ohio is a critical must win state. No candidate has ever become president without winning Ohio`s 18 electoral votes. Whoever wins Ohio, will win the election.
The only way Romney can win the election without winning Ohio, is if he wins Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Winning these 3 states would secure Romney`s victory. Governor Romney seems likely to win Florida and Virginia according to recent polls, but Pennsylvania is a tougher win for Romney. That`s why Romney plans to do an additional visit to Pennsylvania during election day.
We`ll find out Tuesday evening if Romney`s last minute visit to Pennsylvania pays off. Most experts agree that it will be a long night of counting, but the winner should be evident by early Wednesday morning US EST.
With regard to US-RI relations, Barack Obama`s presidency has certainly been good for Indonesia from a political stand point, but not neccessarily from an economic view.
For the past four years since Obama took office, there has been no notable achievement that can be proudly claimed by both side. In fact, the trade deficit has widened and certain industries has actually been banned or highly restricted from trade in the US.
What most Indonesians don`t realize is that a democrat government in the US usually means more protectionism and restriction for other countries to access the US market. In return, democrats like to use aid diplomacy to neutralize potential friction with friendly nations like Indonesia.
With a republican government, nations like Indonesia can expect better economic ties, which usually result in better political ties such as in the Ronald Reagan presidency during the 1980s. A couple of weeks ago, Romney made statement to Indonesia where he basically said "Indonesia is a friend of the US".
Unfortunately, this comforting statement made by a potential US president did not make the headline in the Indonesian media which are blatantly supporting President Obama in their coverage of the US elections.
President Obama`s dismal economic record which include high 7.9 percent unemployment level, doubling the debt, a stagnant economy at 1 percent, unsustainable government spending, high housing prices and foreclosures, have made many of his critics labeled his Obama`s economy as the worst economic recovery since the great depression.
Considering President Obama`s failing economic record, it should be obvious for those that seek economic prosperity to favor Governor Romney.
This applies for the entire world, with perhaps the exception of China. However, for those that like and rely on aid from the US, and prefer politics over economics would no doubt support Obama.
The writer is a US graduate and is currently working as communications expert in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(T. E002/O001)
Reporter: by Harry Tumengkol
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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