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Just to start a conversation I asked the black taxi driver taking us from Chicago airport to the hotel who he would vote for in the November presidential elections. After complaining that all politicians are unreliable opportunists, he asked me what Indians think of Obama. I was not very sure. But I think Indians need to know about the next US president first, whether it is Obama or McCain. And the US president and his policies have an influence on the Indian IT industry. While we go back to check out on Obama, I thought of getting an idea of what Americans think of him and, therefore, spoke to quite a few people.

One feedback was that oil prices would surely come down. The life of an average American revolves around oilfrom cars, which is the lifeline of an American, to lawn mowers, which I think is their passioneverything runs on oil. A young female taxi driver in Orlando said that if Obama comes to power, oil prices could come down. She said that this would be one reason why many will vote for him.

Ibrahim Ahmad

Obama has promised that he will take steps to ensure that Americans do not loose jobs and respect, bring their economy back on track, and that globalization works to Americas advantage. How will he work this out has not been clearly defined, but observers agree that these are the things that will differentiate Obama from McCain, who is most likely to push Bushs agenda forward. I met a business professor on my flight between Chicago and Newark, who felt that Obama would be able to turn the US economy around. If Obama really has a viable game plan to ensure that US jobs do not go out of the country, economies like India need to watch out.

Perhaps the most interesting thought I gathered after talking to people there was about the fate of world peace if Obama comes to the White House. All the people I spoke to believed that president Bush has badly mishandled USAs international relations, not just with Iraq, and Afghanistan but also with many countries in South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, including Russia. One must not forget that countries in these regions are one of the fastest growing, economically. A departmental store manager of Indian origin in Philadelphia believed that the US economy is hit because its relationship with many countries is not good. She supports Obama because she believes that he will be able to bring peace around the world.

While I spoke to quite a few people, there was one apprehension among some of them that really startled me. Obama will be assassinated they felt. Some believed that the right wing white American could do anything to get rid of a colored president. One even felt that there is an apprehension in many quarters that Obama will be too soft toward countries like Iran and Cuba, and will therefore be eliminated. To hear something like this from Americans was very surprising as well as an eye opener. We thought these things happened only in poor, under-developed countries.

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