Democrats Abroad vote in a global primary

Musician and student Mona Dresbach (left) shows her ID and signs up to vote in the Democrats Abroad primary as the new Democrats Abroad - Panama Secretary Nick Jackson (center, in the black shirt) and Treasurer Mary Roush observe

Obama grabs an early lead in Democrats Abroad primary returns
photos and story by Eric Jackson

The final results won't be in until about February 20, after the Democrats Abroad international office in Switzerland has received all the votes from places with good communications like Panama as well as more problematic venues. (Hmmmm --- wonder how Hillary and Obama split the vote in Chad, or Outer Mongolia?) The ballots put into a converted fluorescent (environmentally correct) box at the Balboa Elks Club represented an estimated one-third of Panama's Democrats Abroad, the majority having been cast online. When they were counted, there were 39 for Barack Obama, 17 for Hillary Clinton and one for Dennis Kucinich.

While The Panama News was the only medium present for the Elks Club vote count, in some other countries the "in person" ballot counts were covered by local media, and if England, Costa Rica and Panama are any indication, there was an early trend of about two to one in Obama's favor.

Americans living abroad have special concerns and are attuned to issues that fly over the heads of most people in the States, but it seems that at least in Panama the concerns that motivated local Democrats are similar to those in the USA. Virtually all of the Democrats here are against the Iraq War and the use of torture and concerned about the erosion of privacy and other civil liberties in the United States, but they are divided about which candidate they believe would have the best chance of beating the Republicans in the fall. Hillary's backers tended to emphasize economic issues and the probability that she could get the government to work for things that matter for Democrats. Obama's supporters tended to emphasize the need for fresh thinking about a wide range of issues, with foreign policy and Washington corruption ranking high on the list. Hillary's people expressed concerns about Obama's scant record in office and vague proposals, while Obama's people found the Bill Clinton years less than a golden age and what they knew about Hillary's politics not particularly inspiring. A few people were genuinely torn over the decision and the consensus in both camps was that after the nomination is decided everyone should unite behind the nominee in order to retake the White House from the Republicans.

Democrats Abroad will send a delegation with 11 votes to the Denver convention.

Mrs. Fidanque, at 91, was the senior voter at the Elks Club

Dr. Charles Garcia, president of the American Society of Panama, marks his ballot

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