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Looking in from the outside, I get the impression that either candidate is going to preside over a fundamentally different America in many ways. The neo-con experiment has shown itself for the danger that it is. America is a proudly capitalist country and there's nothing wrong with that, it's been the source of her strength for the whole of her ascendency. But there's a huge differece between subscribing to a largely laissez-faire economic strategy and playing fast and loose with the financial health of the nation.
My prediction, and my hope, is that regardless of which candidate wins, we have seen an end to the free for all of robber barons and the ideology of greed which underpinned it. When a traditional Conservative puts to me the argument against welfare, I disagree with it, but I can see their logic and their good (societally speaking) intent. When a neo-con makes that same argument, it flounders on the greed of their elite, their willingness to interfere in the market only for their own gain and the seeming delight of the anti-poor rhetoric. These people, who have steered the American economy into such dangerous waters, willfully ignoring the needs of their nation in their rush to profit, have fostered a hard attitude towards those who fail.
Personally, I'd like to see American conservatism return to its more traditional roots. I may not like their political message, but I understand it. I understand that it is, whilst obviously in the interests of the ruling elite, also a stance that puts the country's health at its core.
I hope Obama wins. I think most people over here that have an opinion, see him as the preferred candidate. But even if McCain wins, I think the zeitgeist just changed. Whether the answer to America's current problems is a right-wing, or left-wing direction, it isn't a neo-con path that's needed. The Gold Rush has ended. There are accounts to be settled and a serious contemplation of how the state and market relate to each other to be entered into.
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