Georgia: U.S. Presidential Election
Dateline Tbilisi comments on a recent article by The Economist on how the world is viewing November’s presidential election in the United States. The blog says that while the publication considers Georgia firmly behind Republican candidate John McCain, the country is actually split on the matter.
The ones I’ve spoken with seem fairly evenly split between the two candidates. Of course, they are most concerned with how the outcome of the election will affect their country, especially in terms of military support and providing security from Russia. […] One woman , Natia, told me today how disappointed she was when the US passed the Patriot Act, because it ceded citizens civil liberties to the state without providing any real check on these new powers of government.
“If young democracies see the oldest one doing this, then their leaders can say ’see, even America does it; it’s no big deal’,” Natia said.
Georgia’s experiment with democracy and civil liberties is less than five years old, and is already come under attack from the state.
[…]
[…] Saakashvili has heard power’s siren song, and has found subtle ways to quiet dissent, as reported in previous posts. Many Georgians who are concerned about the future democratic development of their country feel that the US has not prodded the current government to stay committed to its reform rhetoric.
- Published:
- 10.15.08 / 1pm by Onnik
- Category:
- Democracy, Georgia, News Briefs, Opinion, United States
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