Out here in California during Xmas week (waking up at a tardy 7:30), I was the last on my virtual block to learn of the Bhutto assassination. Of course, in the Islamic world we expect these things to happen via suicide bombings, because collateral damage is not considered – or even considered to be collateral. The more the merrier in the name of God.
Since all politics is semi-local, it will be interesting to see what ramifications this event has on domestic presidential politics. The Ron Paul Cult seems pretty absurd in the face of all this. The idea that America can retract into itself in the face of this insanity is, well, insane, but they are, as I said, a cult, so they will likely behave as such. For the more normal candidates the results may be different. Voter interest, I should think, will be refocused on the problems of the world, even though much of the electorate would not have been able to identify Benazir Bhutto. But many do know that Pakistan is nuclear. At least I hope they do.
Sorry to be parochial in the face of such a tragedy, but those are the times in which we live. “Interesting,” as the Chinese curse goes.
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