Cedar Rapids (Iowa): If ‘none of the above’ option were on the ballot on November 8, American people would make it a roaring winner. So it seems, as more and more US citizens appear upset at the Hobson’ choice they are presented with to pick their 45th president. The inevitability of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump taking office as the president of the United States is making many people queasy here.
There is no better person than a cab driver to know the pulse of a city. Jeff Goetz, a cab driver in Cleveland, got to the point straightaway. “This election is all about selecting the lesser of the evil. Neither Clinton nor Trump can unify the country. There is revulsion here for career politicians. I would prefer Trump because he is a businessman but Clinton is going to win,” he said.
The Tamil community in the nearby Iowa state is, however, overwhelmingly Democratic. Sruthi Palaniappan, 18, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is one of the youngest delegates in the Clinton camp. Deccan Chronicle spoke to a few Tamils in the quaint little town of Cedar Rapids to gauge how they are approaching the election.
Karthik Narayanan, a software engineer, can’t stand the presidential candidates any longer. “Enough is enough. Both are bad. Trump isn’t mature to run the country, although I like his robust stance against illegal immigrants. Clinton, on the other hand, has a credibility crisis. Let’s not forget that the way the US is governed is critical for the wider world in many aspects. Clinton has a decisive edge here because the other option is unappetizing,” he said.
Karthik, who has already cast an early ballot after becoming a US citizen last month, said many Americans in his office are also of the opinion that the election are a new low in the country’s history. “There was class in the three elections I have witnessed here. Civility has no place in Clinton vs Trump. Instead of talking about what they would to the country, both candidates are only talking about each other. A feeling that the current presidential election is like AIADMK vs DMK in Tamil Nadu is inescapable,” he added.
Balakrishnan Ramaswamy, an aeronautical engineer, was scathing in his attack of Mr Trump. “He is not the right candidate for the Republican party. He hurts a lot of people. It’s ironical that his angry outbursts have also made him popular. He wants to build a wall across the Mexican border with money from the Mexican government to prevent illegal immigration. If Mexico had so much money, why should their people come to the US?
“Electing Trump would mean a drastic change. Smooth transition would be possible by electing Clinton. I was shocked by the lack of manners in the whole campaign. Can you imagine a presidential debate in which the candidates didn’t not shake hands?” he said.
Lakshmi Karthik, a kindergarten teacher, wants to give a chance to a woman. “I want to see how the first woman president of the country will function. Trump is attention-seeking, shallow and childish. Most of the time, he doesn’t make sense.
The Republican candidate isn’t outspoken; he is crude. He doesn’t have the qualities to run the country,” she said. According to Lakshmi, most American people are in a dilemma regarding the election. “They want to vote but they don’t have great candidates in front of them. One of my senior colleagues told me that she never faced the problem in her life before this election. Many people are bracing up to vote on party allegiance without thinking about the candidates,” she said.
