US Election 2012: The Illusion of Democracy

“Leader of the Free World” or PR Person for the Global Corporate Oligarchy?

Tonight President Obama will “debate” Mitt Romney. The topic seems to be of critical importance to the rest of the world: it is after all about the United States’ foreign policy. The president of the United States of America is often emphatically called “leader of the free world”, yet this label is far from being truth in advertizing. In the corporate transnational world order of global capitalism, the temporary tenant residing in the White House has become barely more than a glamorized PR person. As far as “free world”, this notion — with the ever growing rule of the global police state –– has become more or less obsolete. Where is freedom when you live in a country with legislation such as NDAA and the Patriot Act? Where is freedom in a country with a Department of Homeland Security? Where is justice and basic respect for foreign sovereignty in a country running an assassination program using drones and justifying it by the bogus, endless, and borderless “war on terror”. Where is freedom in a country that spends more money for its prison system than education (on average states spend three to four times more on incarcerating prisoners than on education)?

“I Am Israel’s Best Friend” or Which One Will  Start World War III Sooner?

In the mockery debate tonight, Obama and Romney will both claim to be Israel’s best friend. Both are right, and as a matter of fact it seems that the foreign-policy decisions of the US — at least in the Middle-East — are made mostly in Tel Aviv and not in Washington. Even though Israeli PM Netanyahu has made his preference for Romney clear, if short of official, president Obama has diligently served the interests of the Jewish state. Despite the budget deficit, taxpayers’ money is still flowing generously to Israel as well as an unlimited amount of the most high-tech military equipment. There is no reason to be surprised here as the United States, ever since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, has pledged to Israel a blind and unconditional support. The exit strategy from Afghanistan will also be a topic. The Obama administration has done its very best to expand the conflict to Pakistan. Now perhaps, the new “exit strategy” for US and NATO troops will just be an invasion of Iran.

If Libya will be discussed briefly, it is likely that the debate will focus on Syria and Iran. Last weekend, the NewYork Times floated the notion that some diplomatic talks could be in the works between Washington and Teheran on Iran’s nuclear program. This story was quickly denied by the White House. Meanwhile, some joint US-Israeli military exercises were taking place in the region. It could be that the negotiation story was a typical “wag the dog” strategy to hide the military activity. But regardless of it, the war mongering rhetoric of “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran” is heating up again. Could it be avoided or is it already a runaway train? With Obama reelected perhaps Iranians, Iraqis, Saudis, Lebanese and Syrian people can have a few more months before the region is engulfed in complete mayhem, but there is a sense of inevitability about this folly. People can rest assured that an upcoming military intervention by Israel and the US against Iran will be sold to the American people as a “war of necessity” not a war of choice.

Dead Democracy: Maintaining the  Military-Industrial Complex Empire

Democracy is dead when money controls power. In this regard, the already moribund democratic process completely died in the US with the election of Reagan in 1980. Reagan’s nickname was the “Teflon president”: nothing could stick to him. Not the Iran-Contra affair or a disastrous policy of arming what would become the Taliban in Afghanistan. The actor turned politician defined the perfect US president for the modern era: he had good hair, nice straight teeth and was perfect for his role of  TV anchor and public-relation person in chief. Was Reagan the “leader of the free world”? Far from it. For eight years, and another four serving officially as president, the real power in Washington was former CIA boss: Bush Senior.

Every single bill or coin printed or minted by the US treasury features a dead president. This is a blatant symbol that money equals power. Today the flow of “Dead Presidents”– cash — buys political power and influence. Politicians from time to time have the audacity to call themselves public servants while, as a matter of fact, most are as corrupt as the patrician senators of the Roman empire. All of them cultivate a corporate clientele of donors. Of course, in this vicious cycle of money and power the closer you get to the top of the Illuminati pyramid the more money you can raise. Recently, I received an invitation to attend an exclusive “dinner with president Obama” event: the cost was $2,500 a plate.

This, in a nutshell, defines a pay-to-play democracy, not even a meritocracy but just plainly a plutocracy/oligarchy. But back to the debate tonight. Journalists and political junkies alike will keep a score on twitter and other social media, as if they were following a football game. No matter who “wins” the fake debate, democracy and world peace have already lost. The pseudo American left shouldn’t worry too much about the election outcome. President Obama appears to be a shoo-in.  After all, during his first term in office, he was a good steward of the interests of the people who really matter: the transnational corporations, the military industrial complex and Wall Street.