The race to the White House gathers pace

Amid the close race between Senators Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic Presidential candidature, the space shuttle Atlantis carrying an European satellite to the International Space Station blasted off on Thursday.

Apart from the space trip of Atlantis and the Hillary-Obama tussle for Presidency, a tornado hit Arkansas killing around 60 people and destroying a large number of houses and other buildings in the State last week.

Though American democracy remains stable with hardly any internal conflict emerging politically, the Superpower nation faces threats from the outside world as its concerns are more global.

Until recently the challenges faced by America remained mainly with regard to its political and military issues.

But in recent years with the vast destruction in the state of New Orleans due to hurricane Katrina in 2005, residents of the State also came down to the level of the people of an undeveloped country struggling to come out with the difficulties they faced.

Stadiums, churches, schools and other public places were crowded with people who were severely affected by hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

There were deaths and massive destruction to properties.

The poor countries that benefitted from America when the natural disasters struck them came forward to help the country in whatever way they could.

A month ago another natural disaster in the form of a forest fire put a large area of California into ashes making thousands flee from their homes.

Firefighters not only from California even from the other States of America made a valiant effort to put down the fire that was destroying everything in its way.

Therefore during the debates at the primaries particularly when the Democrats Hilary and Obama met each other, concerns were expressed more towards the well-being of Americans in the areas of country’s economy, social structure as well as the environmental issues.

The military aspect of the country particularly its engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq hardly surfaced when the candidates came out with their views.

The opposition to extending the stay of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is enormous in the US with the country’s allies also losing their interest in lengthy deployment of their men and machines in the Middle East as well as in Afghanistan.

When former US Vice President and Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore contested President Bush as a Democratic candidate his concerns were more on enhancing the welfare systems in the US and protecting the whole planet from the dangers it faced.

Whether it is Obama, the first Afro-American candidate or Hillary Clinton, the first woman candidate, Democrats can have a comfortable entry into the White House as the popularity of Republicans has fallen terribly due to the wrong approaches of President Bush on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unlike the 20th century world, the turmoil of the 21st century is found very much within the borders of each country and not as a crisis between two different countries. Instead of thinking on the lines of building up militarily, countries are concerned more towards strengthening them economically.

The global environment is threatened in a big way with unpredictable changes occurring in the climatic conditions in various parts in the planet.

Poverty and famine due to civil conflicts and natural disasters have dominated the world.

Therefore the USA being a dominant superpower with its extensive space exploration, the entire world expects the country to play an exemplary role in creating a safer world.

So with the results of Democrats on the `Super Tuesday’ in the primaries last week, the contest between Obama and Hillary is now wide open.