Two weeks ago I met a friend who asked me “So, who are you voting for?” “Obama, of course!” “Me too!” It didn’t really matter we are not Americans, thus unable to vote in any way. But still, we rallied behind this guy’s plans 
And it seems it’s a matter of 20 hours or so till Obama will become the Democrats’ official proposal for the White House. Mrs. Clinton’s aides say she’s preparing her farewell speech. Uuuu… the excitement! I wonder how Romanian politicians feel about US elections…
Photo: NY Times – Senator Barack Obama campaigning Monday in Troy, Mich
Later edit: Hotnews tocmai au dat si ei vestea in romana. Se pare ca in seara asta Mrs. Clinton ne spune “bye-bye” si accepta – poate – propunerea de a deveni principalul artizan al reformelor Obama in sanatate.
Later later edit: It looks like Mrs Clinton is not giving up, officials say…
As he oftentimes does, Razvan’s inspired me today. Namely to write some thoughts on the American electoral campaign. Initially, I wanted to make a more comprehensive analysis. But this article from Hotnews.ro struck me. It basically makes a comparison between Segolene Royal’s nervousness in a public debate with Sarkozy and Hillary Clinton’s recent outburst on Saturday’s debate with Barack Obama, when she made a fuss because the moderator asked her first – instead of her opponent – a rather delicate question about NAFTA. Granted, “she snapped” – as American commentators put it.
And then I came to wonder… are women politicians bound “to snap” at their opponents? Or to be more nervous in general than their male counterparts? To put things bluntly, women do tend to think with their ovaries, i.e. to lose temper easier than men do. And yes, exceptional women (and I think we can all agree that making it to the finals in the electoral confrontation in both France and the US, less than a century after the very introduction of the universal suffrage is simply outstanding) also tend to snap easier than men.
But is that necessarily bad? Honestly speaking, I’d rather believe in a woman that can show me emotions (and I do believe the emotions displayed by both Segolene and Hillary were not terribly misplaced) than in a man that sweeps me off my feet with his perfectly cool composure. In politics, and in life in general. I’ll blog more about women in politics… the subject is fascinating.
The infamous clips (with Sego and Hillary losing their temper):
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_VmKcgYaIU&eurl=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-international-2495225-video-hillary-clinton-segolene-royal-doua-candidate-acelasi-comportament.htm[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ka4Z9I-6Y&eurl=http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-international-2495225-video-hillary-clinton-segolene-royal-doua-candidate-acelasi-comportament.htm[/video]