Around Russia

Reds against the blue

November 7, 2012 Mikhail Berg

I will write this article eight hours. Not because I write for a long time, but because I will put the last point at the moment when the last state of California closes for voting. After that, the loser of the candidate will call the winning the presidential race and officially congratulate him on the victory.

I just returned from the polling station, where I voted for Barack Obama. More precisely, I voted for those electors, the number 11, which will represent the state of Massachusetts. And he is traditionally, the benefit of a university state, votes for the Democrats. There are things that amaze a person from Russia: they do not ask any documents - they ask the address, the first three letters of the surname, give out ballots - and go. By the way, no day of silence - at a legal distance from the polling station are people with posters, pickets of activists campaigning for their candidate.

One way or another, I, a Russian writer, living in America for almost seven years, voted for Obama. Why? No, Obama does not seem to me an ideal president, and I have no Obamamania. I am not black, not a Muslim, not a Protestant, but a convinced atheist. Nevertheless, I did not doubt my choice for a second. For me, this is the same as voting against Putin. That is, to be on the side of what is called an awkward word justice . It is clear that Mitt Romni is not Putin, and almost any politician can become Putin, put him in the Kremlin and let the will do everything that your heart wants. But this is Russia, and we are talking about America, which is also a very complex and far from perfect country.

In America, almost all the wealth of the country belongs to one percentage of the population. That is, the richest of the richest here, but the poor ... No, the poor in America are not the poorest, although, according to official estimates, there are more than 17 percent, while in some Sweden, far from the richest country, there are half as much. That is, in comparison with Europe, even Canada, America is a much less socially protected country. That is why, in my opinion, she needs a greater roll to the left, towards a socially oriented state, otherwise there will be serious conflicts between the poor and rich, between the winners in this life and its losers.

Alas, in America, poverty (quite relative, at least compared to Russia) has, however, the most nasty (albeit characteristic) property: it - from year to year, from generation to generation - reproduces itself. That is, the children of the poor remain poor, do not have the opportunity to get normal education and become outsiders already at the start. Society learned to fence away from this poverty, driving it in reservation, very often with an ethnic shade. That is, among the black and Latin American people there are more, much more, much more than among the white ones. And the Beach of the poor is drugs and crime. In the prosperous at first glance, the country in prison sits 2.3 million people. And in absolute terms (and in relative, in terms of 100 thousand people) there are more prisoners in America than anywhere else. This is a sign of a serious illness, which over time only deepens and which seems to me much more terrible than the huge external debt of the United States or budget deficit.

And the number of prisoners and the number of prison themselves is only growing. Somewhere I read that in California over the past thirty years, only one new university and 21 new prison appeared. Yes, in America very severe justice, including for everyone who spreads drugs or violates migration laws. If we transferred American justice to Russia, then, I think, half of our population would be in prison, the Russians are not law -abiding and do not care about what is called social responsibility .

If America does not learn to help children from dysfunctional families, find a way out of a dead end of poverty and crime, it will have difficult times. And for this, it is necessary to reduce the abyss between the property and the poor, to make the poor at least a little richer, and the rich are slightly poorer. This is what Obama is trying to do, increasing taxes on the rich and improving education and medical care for the poor. This does not want to admit Mitt Romni, representing the interests of super -tog -bogies, protecting the interests of the layer, which in Russia is called oligarchic , and with contempt related to the problems of the poor. What is your Latin. Moreover, Romny promises, if he comes to power, to cancel all the humanitarian programs of Obama: his reform of healthcare, which is tuned to give at least some medical insurance, Obama's attempt to introduce an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Romney generally threatens to reduce all medical insurance for patients and low -income.

I do not know to what extent my logic is convincing. Probably not for everyone. At least, Romny’s arguments that the market will correct everything itself, that the more rich the rich will be, the more caftans they can give to the poor, also has their supporters, otherwise there would be no presidential election at all.

Of course, I write an article, but I write, as they say, with one eye, and the second on the Internet and on TV I follow what is happening. Finally, plots in the states of Georgia, Indiana, Kentukki, North Carolina, Vermont were closed. And here are the first results according to CNN: Romney expectedly wins in Kentukki and Indiana, Obama in Vermont. But this is only the beginning. The election political map of America is painted in two colors - red (color of the Republicans) and blue (democrats). If you look at this map of forecasts, red dominates in the south and in the center, and blue on the sides: in the east and west. But, as you know, the main thing is to win in doubt, in the undemanded states. And this is precisely Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire. Meanwhile, according to the first data of the exit regolov from Florida, where the elections are still continuing, 55 percent of the vote was given for Obama, 45-as experts say, if Obama really wins in Florida, the final victory is guaranteed to him, with a significant margin.

The plots in the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tenlesesses are already closing. Already earlier (I missed it, while clicking in Ogio, Northern Carolina and Western Virginia.

CNN reports: Obama takes the upper hand in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rog Aleland, Delaware, Maryland and Illinois. Novot results of ec-regulations from a very important state of Ohio: there are 61 percent for Romny, only 37 for Obama.

And now the intermediate results of CNN in all voting states: Romny wins Obama by the number of electors with a score of 82 versus 64. I presurumans seem to retain the majority in the House of Congress.

Another hour passed, and, according to the newspaper The New-York Times , Obama slightly aligned the situation: Obama-Romni-148: 160. But CNN continues to predict Obama’s victory.

Meanwhile, the democrats win the Senate, but resolutely lose the congress. Data on the western coast came up: Obama leads both in key states and in the total number of votes of electors. He has 238 votes, and Mitt Romny has 191. This is a real struggle.

But on the CNN screen - the jubilant supporters of Obama in Chicago, this means only one thing: Obama, in their opinion, wins! He took Ohio, and this is an almost faithful victory! At the same time, Romny is still the leading of the votes. But the American system knows only a collegium of electors.

So: Obama is the president for another four years! With the new-old president, dear comrades!

Photo by ITAR-TASS