Recent events clearly put The White house within the reach of Barrack Obama. Many political pundits have suggested that the US election is Obama’s to lose. About 90% of Ghanaians are following it with keen interest, hoping that Barrack Obama becomes the next President of the United States of America. I am not sure such a high percentage of people favor Atta Mills’ bid to occupy the OSU Castle. At the end of this journey however, we will come to appreciate that if events tilts Obama’s way as we all hope they do, Atta-Mills will also benefit from those occurrences. Whether Barrack wins or not remains to be seen, but many parallels can be drawn between the US elections and that of Ghana!

I want to be on record as saying that, ‘if Barrack Obama wins the US elections on November 4th, Prof Evans Atta-Mills would also win the Ghanaian one on December 7th’! I am neither for Atta-Mills nor against him. It takes a lot more to persuade me than he is doing. He has to set himself above the impression that he is wearing someone else’s skirt. Uncle Atta is Diplomatic but not bold enough as far as I am concerned. Akuffo-Addo on the other hand, is courageous and more but lacks substance. His campaign has done a good job of hiding him from the people. What more do we know besides the Akuffo-Addo who speaks fluently and courageously? Personally, casting a vote for any of the Presidential Candidates in Ghana at the impending elections would more than likely be a very difficult task. Difficult in the sense that, I doubt any of them individually has what it takes to take Ghana to the next level. Ghanaians need leaders who are as Courageous as Soldiers, Tactful as Diplomats and Smart as Merchants. Leaders who have the political gall to stand up to the first-world bullies. The no nonsense type of leaders! As I said earlier, Akuffo-Addo, Atta-Mills, and Kwesi Nduom does not individually posses all of these leadership qualities. Hence, my resolve to vote for team Akuffo-Addo-Atta-Mills-Kwesi Nduom-John Mahama-Mahamadou Bawumia.Anything short of that is a repetition of the last 27 years-counting Rawlings’ 19 and Kuffour’s 8. Forget the rest; they are nothing but a bunch of state-burial seekers.

It is fascinatingly interesting the striking similarities between the US election and the Ghanaian one. During the 2000 elections, the so-called wind of change that brought John Agyekum Kuffour (Ghana) to power also did George W. Bush (United States of America) and many world leaders. The wind of change was worldwide, but was witnessed much more in Senegal, Israel, and Germany. Incidentally, those elections were decided to some extent in a run off. The United States’ was too close to call- remember the famous Florida vote recount. Then came 2004; George W. Bush won a second term easily and so did John Agyekum Kuffour.They have questions to answer about their stewardship to their respective countries. Fact is, Bush’s approval rating is incredibly low; he is the most unpopular President in the history of the United States. Kuffour can get away with no empirical formula to determine his approval rating, but the discerning ones know how he has performed. In a matter of months, Kuffour and Bush’s terms are ending. Neither Dick Cheney nor Aliu Mahama stands a chance of taking over from their Masters. The N.P.P. and their REPUBLICAN comrades have veteran politicians as their Presidential Candidates-Akuffo-Addo and John McCain. Prof. Mills until the Swedru declaration was unknown on the Ghanaian political scene and so was Barrack Obama before the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Atta-Mills chose John Mahama a well-known politician from the Northern Region and a member of the Ghanaian Parliament. Guess what, Barrack Obama also chose Joe Biden, a Senator from Delaware (Northeast of the United States). Just as John Mahama is respected in the Ghanaian parliament, so is Senator Joe Biden in the US House of Senate. The veterans, Akuffo-Addo and John McCain chose two completely unknown people as their running mates. McCain a Governor from Alaska and Akuffo-Addo a Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana. Many political analysts consider their choices to be high risk, one that could have negative consequences on the outcome of both elections. Talking about that, how about John McCain’s Vice Presidential nominee’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy for a backlash? Call that anything but a smart choice.

For me, the US elections are over for John McCain. Barrack Obama is the next US President! If Americans can overlook Bush’s poor economic policies, high oil prices and the escalating health care cost and still vote for John McCain. Ghanaians will also forget about Kuffour’s misplaced priorities. This guy blew a whopping 30 million US dollars on Ghana @ 50 at a time Ghanaians slept in darkness. He is so puffed about his own achievements he splashed close to one million British Pound Sterling awarding himself and his entourage. Somebody please do not forget about how much he wasted the taxpayers’ money on the first redenomination exercise. However, in America, African-Americans are Americans somewhat. Barrack Obama is African-American. Whether they can get over the color of his skin and vote for him is comparable to asking Ghanaians to overlook Rawlings’ influence on Prof Atta-Mills. I choose to remain optimistic!

KENNETH K SARFO VA, USA