11 月 4 日便是美國總統大選，距離選舉之日還有不到兩個月，看著 Barack Obama 和 John McCain 兩位候選人積極地穿州過省進行拉票、演說，便略略感受到濃厚的戰味。雖然據美國全國民意調查，Obama 將會以大比數的得票，拋離 McCain 成為首位黑人總統，但自從 McCain 邀請了阿拉斯加州長 Sarah Palin 擔任其副手後，二者的支持度竟逐步拉近，原因是 Palin 的來臨，為 McCain 陣營吸納了不少女性、鄉郊、以及南部選民；而最重要一點，是 Palin 乃屬擅辭令的政治人物，正好彌補 McCain 於演說技巧遠遜 Obama 的不足。

打從 Obama 與 Hilary Rodham Clinton 競逐被提名成為民主黨總候選人之際，Obama 的每次演說都教人「神魂顛倒」。上月 28 日，民主黨全國代表大會正式通過 Obama 為民主黨總統候選人，他隨即於大會的最後一天，在 Denver 一個體育場內發表接受提名講話，那段演說被放到 YouTube 視頻分享網站後，引來逾 50 萬點擊次數，9,000 多個回應。這篇長達 50 分鐘的講話，我也捧了場，聽罷後由衷折服，的確精彩，但先旨聲明，我既不是 Obama 支持者，亦對 McCain 沒有任何偏見。因為我不是美國公民，沒有投票的權利，美國總統由誰來上任，可以說「干予底事」。不過，我很羨慕美國人，在他們的國家裡，竟有這麼出色的政治人材。回看香港、中國，優秀的人，逃到不知哪裡去，政壇上只是一具又一具的扯線公仔，或是一團團的黏土，隨別人舞來弄去、搓圓壓扁。

9 月 7 日，是香港立法會選舉的日子，每逢選舉時節，電視皆會播放各區候選人的答辯大會，這些所謂的答辯大會，與美國總統大選的直是差天共地。後者是按著對手的政綱，抽絲剝繭的提問，質詢；前者卻是針對對手的瘡疤，無所不用其極的挖苦、侮辱。今年適逢奧運關係，電視台未有作直播，而選擇在當日奧運節目完結後重播，我看了港島和九龍東兩區的候選人答辯，一如以往，兩個區域，合共 10 多位候選人，無一不是潑婦罵街、癲狗亂吠，各候選人的政綱橫看、側看、豎看，均是「吹水不抹嘴」，我真不知道他們到底想入立法會幹些甚麼？互些對罵？還是學效台灣的議員，動手打人呢？Obama 的演說，真教我很是心動，我暫且不理會他能否諾實講話中每項內容，但他的政綱和治國理念非常清晰，眼光遠大，目標明碓，更能振奮選民的愛國情懷，團結眾人的心，這樣的領導者，近 10 年難得一見；可恨的是，香港、共產政府從未出現過如此具領袖才華的政治家。

高坐立法會議席上的每位議員，統統皆不懂政府的功能為何，他們單純視政治為權力遊戲，為自己晚年鋪路的工具，所以他們政績、所提出的議案，全是由自己出發，不利於己的一律封殺，危害自己仕途的充耳不聞，簡單從普選行政長官的提案和激辯，已可看出立會中的議員，誰有資格繼續留下。每一個社會，其實都需要一個憂國憂民的政府，絕非為己為利的一群窩囊飯袋。坦白說，我是舉腳贊成普選行政長官，問題是，若然站出來參選的，盡都是眼光短淺，只顧跟前利益得失，愛挑人瘡疤的鼠流之輩，沒有像 Obama 這種具領袖風範的政壇「明星」，普選不過是一場另類 talk show罷了。

Obama's acceptance speech at DNC highlighs:
“It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well. That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive.”

“America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this. This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.”

“This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”"

“A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.”

“We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.”

“It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.”

“Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work. That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.”

“Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.”

“That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.”

“The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America. So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.”

“I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.”

“This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.”

“America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.”