Andrey Piontkovsky, professor of Cambridge University and leading political scientists at Hudson Institute, especially for Trend
Obama is going to win presidential elections despite current situation in US, economic crisis and if dramatic changes do not take place in two weeks.
I do not think McCain made mistakes during his election campaign. Mass media made very easy assumption about the financial crisis: the Republicans ruled for eight years and they and President Bush is to be blamed for that. And it was McCain who lost from it. If we have a closer look, we can see that it is not true. The key reason that prompted this crisis was issuing mortgage credits to people who could not pay them back.
Laws on credits were created by Democrats and they moved a bill through Congress which encouraged granting credits to the unsecured. If to think about it for a moment, it becomes clear that Republicans should not be blamed.
When economic problems emerge, it is the governments who are usually blamed for this. I am suspicious about shore elite and New-York's financial elite's who absolutely support Obama, dramatizing this crisis deliberately. There can be a small forecast - the markets will stabilize on 5 November. The televised stage of crisis began on 18 to 19 September when Obama's was in helpless condition as McCain dominated in all surveys for the first time.
Race factor does exist here. Black candidates usually gain less by 5% to 7% which is also indicated by US sociologists. It is wrong from political point of view to say that we are against blacks, but when someone is in polling booth, they act in a different way. This fact is estimated at 5% to 7%. Obama leaves behind his rival by 10%. This is enough to neutralize race factor. I would not say which of the candidates will became president as everything is changing so rapidly.
For instance, my Republican acquaintances say there is a video discrediting Obama which will be made public at the last moment which will change the situation. But evidences about his contacts with very suspicious characters did not produce impression on American voters as key media outlets impudently support Obama.
Both US presidential candidates were very sharp about Russia in the latest debates. Judging from foreign policy advisers of Barack Obama and John Mccain, I think McCain would pursue more irreconsible policy against Russia than Obama. Kremlin is interested in Obama's victory and his current rhetoric is just election campaign and the problems will remain the same. Personalities do not mean everything.
Opinions expressed in this article may be different of those held by Trend