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front pagespecial reports: Taking a leap
This was the New Year's muñeco that won legislator Arturo Araúz's annual contest. It depicts Irving "The Kangaroo" Saladino, Panama's stellar world-class long jumper, who came into his own in 2007 and upon whom Panama places many of its Olympic medal hopes this year. There are lots of other people and things leaping at the start of this leap year, too. *
* *
I jump back to
last year with a pictorial review of some of the
stories that The Panama News has covered over the past 12 months. No
Paris Hilton, or even such Hollywood stars as Angelina Jolie or Mel
Gibson, who passed through here in 2007.
(I was eating lunch at the Manolo's on Via Veneto awhile back when Jolie came in and sat down at another table. I even had my camera with me. But at the Margarita Union Church's Sunday school they taught me not to worship idols and even if I may be a somewhat uncouth old hippie I have this sense of manners that allows public figures to have private lives, and to eat their lunches in peace. I left the camera in the chacara and Ms. Jolie alone.) But are you, unlike me, starstruck? Or do you need a few extra bucks? Maybe you want to be an extra in the 007 movie they're going to shoot down here. The license to kill is not included. * * * On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, it appears that Democratic caucus and primary voters, and the American people, are willing to make a leap of faith in hope of some real changes in Washington. While the contest for the nomination is far from over and then there will be a bruising battle with the Republicans in the fall, the sensational surge of Barack Obama, the young senator from Illinois, is more than anything a decision that in these hard and dangerous times Americans don't want more of the same. This political junkie expects that if Obama wins New Hampshire by a convincing margin --- as it appears he will --- then he'll be hard to stop in the race for the Democratic nomination. The others would have to look for upsets in South Carolina or Nevada for any momentum at all going into the February 5 Super Tuesday, when 22 states vote. Clinton's strength in New York and California might save her on that day, but remember that California no longer apportions delegates on a winner-take-all basis. An ability to mobilize unusual percentages of normally apathetic young voters and solid black support are the aces up Obama's sleeve. And also bear in mind that Mr. O'Bama comes from Chicago, where the Irish-American machine rules, and the contest hasn't yet gone to Boston, New York or any of the other places where the Irish --- or black Irish --- vote is a big factor. (Democrats Abroad, by the way, are having a global primary this year, which will take place on February 5-12. You must be registered as a member of Democrats Abroad by January 31 to participate. Contact the local Democrats Abroad party chair, Dick Koster, for more details.) If Romney loses New Hampshire, most likely to McCain, the race on the GOP side becomes very fluid, with South Carolina and Florida becoming key battlegrounds for momentum ahead of Super Tuesday. Figure that the religious right is one-third of the GOP and it's with Huckabee, the traditionally dominant country club set upon whom Romney had counted is fragmented and all of the other slivers of the Republican base are up for grabs. Look for Cuban-Americans in Florida and conservative Mexican-Americans in the southwest, some of whom are annoyed about the immigrant-bashing and English-only notions embraced by most of the GOP candidates, as possible wild cards in the Republican race. Also look for the small-c fiscal conservatives, as opposed to the current borrow-and-spend administration, to reassert themselves in this year's primary process. At this point John McCain --- who, by the way, is kind of a favorite son because he was born here --- would seem best positioned to play these cards. (If you are of the Republican persuasion and want to get involved, contact the local Republicans Abroad party chair, Renee C. Neilsen, for more details.) *
* *
Another thing
that's leaping is the cost of everything down here.
Those of you who
are living in some of the pricier parts of the USA will still find
Panama a land of incredible bargains, but then you are not among the
more than 400,000 Panamanians who live on less than $1 per day, nor do
you work for our local minimum wage, which went up to a princely $325
per month for those employed by large businesses. (The biggest labor
sector here, by the way, is self-employed in tiny little
micro-enterprises, one of which is The Panama News. The rastaman on Via
España from whom I buy the dried seaweed to make the
isinglass
(Irish moss)
beverage tells me that the price has gone from a dollar to a dollar and
a quarter a bag because "time hard for everyone."
*
* *
Was it a leap of
faith in President Torrijos that persuaded the National Assembly to
confer the power to legislate by decree on
the subjects of banking, customs, tourism and immigration during
January and February?
Well, the guy's doing reasonably well in the public opinion polls, but the average Panamanian has little faith in the presidency or any other public institution. And are legislators particularly possessed of faith? Well, they go around passing legislation proclaiming their faith in holy scriptures, but I don't see any one of them who believes that much in Mark 16:18 that he or she handles snakes in assembly chamber. (They do, however, start speaking in weird tongues whenever the subject gets onto matters of public integrity.) The PRD caucus gave the president his special powers to legislate for a more worldly reason, because at the moment they are busy with internal party elections. Actually, some of the things about which the president will legislate clearly need to be changed and there are some indications that he will get a few things right, like reversing last year's foolish decision to shorten tourist visas from 90 to 30 days. I trust that he will do at least this good thing. I also believe that obnoxious special interest provisions will make their ways into the president's decrees. I wouldn't mind my faith being shattered on this point. *
* *
There are all
sorts of faith. One of them is of a secular sort, a belief that a cause
has a chance to prevail against long odds. In the opinion section's
first column, Miguel Antonio Bernal expresses a
version of that. In the last column of that section, retired United
Church of Christ pastor Bill Phillips, who grew up in part
at Fort Davis, recounts the tale of a modern American prophet.
*
* *
One parting article of faith here. Mark January 21 through 26 on your calendar. Over those few days Panama becomes jazz capital of the world. Believe me. The Panama Jazz Festival will be good. Enjoy.
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