Across the Great Divide.

Barak Obama, Senator from Illinois and the charismatic Democratic, recently launched his campaign for the 2008 Presidential elections in the US. Obama rallied enthusiasts against the back drop of the old State Capital, the same venue where the President Lincoln gave his infamous "House Divided" speech. Senator Obama's speech announcing his candidacy, encompassed a similar tone of eloquence, weaved expertly with a forthright perspective for the future.





ABC International article reports that Australian Prime Minister, John Howard "slammed" the Iraq plan outlined by Senator Obama and continued to bad-mouth the Democratic caucus as a whole. These crude comments is certainly creating tidal waves on both sides of the Pacific and only adds support to the popularity of Obama, the 2008 candidate for the office of U.S President. The remarks of the uncouth variety made by the Australian P.M was corroborated by Radio New Zealand, Globe and Mail.com, CNN, NEWS24, Guardian.

Television New Zealand (TVNZ) article's opening sentence, described John Howard's gobbing off as setting off a firestorm. An article by newspaper "The Australian" also used the analogy of a 'firestorm'. CBS article went further and singled out a particularly apprehensive line, in John Howard's comments.

"If I were running al-Qaida in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats."

Australian P.M defended his comments in a report by Herald Sun, as well describing the opening salvo of flak by Opposition leader, Kevin Rudd.

Melbourne's Age Newspaper article reports that, Senator Obama's laughs off Howard's comments with a classic comeback.

This is the excerpt of the article by AGE:

Obama laughs off criticism by PM Howard

February 12, 2007 - 7:04AM

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has laughed off criticism from Australian Prime Minister John Howard about his plans for an Iraq withdrawal. Mr Howard said Obama's plans for Iraq "encourage those who wanted to completely destabilise and destroy Iraq."

The American senator has called for capping the number of US troops in Iraq and then beginning to withdraw them on May 1. He wants a complete pullout of combat brigades by March 31, 2008.

"It's flattering that one of George W Bush's allies feels obliged to attack me," Obama said, about Mr Howard's comments. Obama said that if Howard did not think enough was being done in Iraq, he should consider sending more Australian troops to the region. Australia has about 1,400 troops in Iraq, mostly in noncombat roles. Obama formally announced his candidacy in Illinois on Saturday.

Obama's religious background has come under scrutiny because he attended a Muslim school in Indonesia from age 6 to 10.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather from 1967 to 1971 and subsequently returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.

Obama now attends a Chicago church with his wife and two young daughters. "If your name is Barack Hussein Obama, you can expect it, some of that," he said. "I think the majority of voters know that I'm a member of the United Church of Christ, and that I take my faith seriously," he said.

Obama dismissed concerns about his own security, but would not answer directly when asked if he had received death threats. The Reverend Jesse Jackson drew early Secret Service protection because of violent threats during his campaigns for president in the 1980s.

"I face the same security issues as anybody," he said.

© 2007 AP DIGITAL

What does this have to do with Fiji one may ask. One simply has to view the 2008 race, as an early indicator of the changing political climate. The same climate that affects Australia's foreign policy, Fiji and the rest of world in one indirect way or another.

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