Presidential Politics in Jordan

A few days ago I saw a short report on CNN discussing the views on the presidential race in the United States from people in various countries around the world. I can't remember all the countries from which CNN reported, but the theme was the same in each: the reporters believed most of the people in the country wanted either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama to win, and they also didn't really know who John McCain was.

I found this report interesting because it exactly mirrored the opinions of everyone--and I do mean everyone--I know or have discussed the election with here. All of these people want Clinton to win--although they would accept an Obama victory--and very few know much about the Republican nominee or even know his name.

From the conversations I have had, this overwhelming affinity for Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in general seems to stem from two reasons. First, most of the people here really like Hillary's husband, Bill Clinton. Exactly why this is I am not sure, but it probably has something to do with his push to find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Most of this occurred late in his presidency, but I think most people here believe that his approach to the issue was more evenhanded than is George Bush's approach. Although one can debate the specifics of this point, it is at least a reasonable position to hold, unlike the position of one particular friend of mine, who told me he likes Bill Clinton because when he was president, "there were no wars in the world." Of course this position is not just debatable, it is not true.

This does bring me, though, to the second reason that Jordanians support Hillary Clinton for president, would accept an Obama victory and know next to nothing about John McCain. They know that Clinton is a Democrat, and that her main challenger in the general election will be a Republican, the same party as George W. Bush, whom they do not like. Most Jordanians see Bush as one who has created chaos in their part of the world with invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, supported oppression by maintaining strong ties with Israel and yet is still perhaps willing to cause more chaos in the general region by invading Iran. He does not have a good name here, and as a result neither does his party. I supported decisions other than what the president made and continues to make regarding these issues, so I can agree with a lot of what people say here and believe that many of their opinions are again at least reasonable, debatable positions to hold. However, people here can be lead by their dislike of the president to hold some unreasonable and irrational positions and attribute too many of the problems in the world to him, such as my same friend, who believes all of the wars and war-like violent conflicts in the world currently being waged are the fault of the president--somehow even, he said, the war in Darfur, Sudan in which a Muslim government is fighting Muslim rebels and killing Muslim civilians.

Whatever their reasons--reasonable to me or not--the Jordanians I know hope Hillary Clinton is the next President of the United States. If she loses the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama, though, I'm sure they will then hope for an Obama victory. I'm also sure that over these next few months as election day in the United States nears, a lot of Jordanians will be almost as interested as I am to see what the outcome will be, and what that means for American policy in this part of the world.

Spring is Near

Days here in Amman are starting to be longer and warmer. You can feel a change is coming and we are ready. Winters in Amman may not be as severe or long as they are in Minnesota but we find them harder somehow. Maybe because there are no outdoor activities here like cross-country skiing, quiet walks in Powderhorn Park after a fresh snowfall, sledding or broomball. Or it could be because the heating systems in most houses in Minnesota provide relief from the cold, which the heating systems here don't always do. This is especially noticeable on those days here when we can see our breath inside!



Spring in Jordan is my favorite season as the country that is normally dusty and brown blooms in color for a few weeks. The weather is nearly perfect--warm enough to relax in the sun but cool enough so that you aren't ready to run for shade after 10 minutes. Over the weekend the weather was warm and sunny--the beginning of spring in Amman--so we decided to go for a picnic. We packed a bag of warm pita and fresh hummus and went up to the Citadel, the site of the biblical city of Rabboth Ammon and the Greek and Roman city of Philadelphia which is located on a hill overlooking downtown Amman. We were greeted by some new friends who sat and talked with us and shared our food.

A Final Sudan Post

While in Sudan we stayed with some friends in Um Durman, a city north of Khartoum just across the Nile River. All the homes there--and throughout the Khartoum area--had high mud walls all around them like the one behind the girl in this picture.

Two girls near our friends' house.



Annamarie washing her feet at the basin in our friends' courtyard. Many homes in the Khartoum area have basins like this in the area in front of the door to the house.



Matt pretending to help clean up the kitchen after lunch. Like all homes we saw, this kitchen was located in a separate area outside of the main part of the house.



The neighborhood dry cleaner.



Two men in a busy market in Um Durman.



We had the opportunity to visit several friends during our time in Sudan. After about an hour on the bus, this three-wheeled vehicle--the driver is inside--took us the rest of the way to the home of one friend in an area just south of Khartoum. We were told this particular town was the last place in the Khartoum area that had electricity.



Annamarie with another friend and her children at their home in another area outside of Khartoum.



A soccer match outside their house.



A woman selling Sudanese coffee and tea on the street in Khartoum. These women were everywhere, and we stopped every day for a drink.