Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Obama, McCain, Google Trends, and the Russo-Iranian Quagmire...

I'm someone who puts a premium on the web.

So far this is what Google trends have to say about web activity for the two of them, and as you can see Obama (and even Hillary Clinton until recentely)is beating the pants off of McCain on the web. It's kind of sad really:




You can rationalize and reason away about why Obama is flying so high and McCain so low, but in the end you can't argue with the fact that Obama's exposure is monumental. BTW this traffic is drawn almost exclusively from within the US.

Obama is taking a bit of a dip lately, which is really what matters, so perhaps we are in for a bit of a convergence in traffic.

Will this predict the results of the election?

Maybe.

Does it matter really matter for Israel who wins Israel?

Maybe.

The air of Schadenfreude which courses through my veins kind of wants Obama to win just to see how bad things can get.

But…The way I see it, the biggest problem either can pose for Israel would be in how they would handle the following scenario:

Israel may attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear aspirations. The US may elect to support Israel militarily. This could result is a massive backlash, in an increase in mid-eastern oil prices, leaving the Americans hurting (and crying like children). Russia may choose to intervene to protect Iran (its client state). The result: Big problems.

The question is: Which presidential candidate will benefit Israel more under these circumstances?

I think it's clear that McCain would be the popular choice.

But in my heart I believe that neither would matter because both of them will more than likely become paralyzed on the horns of the said dilemma. The US is a diminished power in the eyes of the world. They are vulnerable to oils shocks. Russia is resurgent. ANd most of all, they are going to look out for number one no matter what position Israel finds itself to be in (which is understood). Things do not look good.

But maybe this is just what the US needs to get its juice back.(Not).