Today's The Day

America will choose its next president today. Some claim that for us Arabs, it doesn't really matter who wins. Some - especially in Kuwait - want Bush to win because he's الغالي ولد الغالي, applying our backward tribal mentality to American elections. Oh wait, I forgot that's how we vote here...

Many Arabs also want Kerry to win, especially after Bush's monumental disaster in Iraq. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a great achievement, but the daily bloodbath in Iraq is anything but. 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died since the war. That is much too high a price and if Kerry wins, he will have the unenviable task of cleaning up that mess.

A lot of Kuwaitis object to Kerry because he voted against sending troops to kick Saddam Hussein out of Kuwati in 1990. I personally don't care about that at all, because when he voted that way it was not out of direct malice or hatred towards Kuwait but out of concern for the US troops and the cost of war etc., all legitimate concerns... The sooner we realize that the world does not revolve around us, the easier it will be for us to understand how the world works.

I prepped myself for the election by watching Fahrenheit 9/11 yesterday afternoon (finally!). How anyone can vote for Bush after seeing that movie is beyond comprehension. I personally found it a little over the top, and uncomfortable in some parts. But what really made my blood boil is how the 2000 elections were literally stolen. I'm no fan of Al Gore, but if this is how the USA conducts its elections, then what hope do we have? More nightmare stories are emerging daily and many predict another extended showdown in Florida, or possibly Ohio, just like last time. At the rate they're going, by 2008 they will need UN election monitors at every polling station!

Many informed Americans feel that history will remember Bush as the worst president they've ever had. Certainly, he's the most polarizing president ever. Whereas, in the past, most Americans couldn't really get that worked up for or against any president, Bush has created an atmosphere of rabid hatred from his opponents and over-zealous adoration from his fans. That can't be healthy in any democracy, least of all in the country that holds itself as a shining example.

So, not that anyone really cares what I think, Kuwait Unplugged officially endorses John Kerry for President because there's no way he will be worse than Bush, and because I need a break from seeing and hearing Bush on TV!!

And just like Oscar night, we won't know the results till tomorrow morning!