Saturday, February 9, 2008

The duel


For people around the world, the competition between Democrat's two superstar candidates—Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton—is beyond the issues of global politics. It's not just that Americans can have the first African-American and the first women president; it shows the world that now it is really the 21st century—when people's leadership will no longer be restrained by their races and genders (you can check out more interesting articles about the 2008 campaign on my professor Paul Levinson's blog).

Either of Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would make history if nominated. But the idea of having them both as running mate might be a dream, for their styles are too different—one with inspiration to inspire the masses and one with delicate technique to fix the problems.

Well, it's far too early to know whether Obama and Clinton could work together. For now, the fight between Obama and Clinton is just like reading the duel of Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武藏) and Yoshioka Seijuro (吉岡清十郎) in Inoue Takehiko's comics. Musashi is a young, energetic swordman with unique style of swordsmanship that makes his moves unpredictable. Seijiruo is an experienced, well-trained martial artist with outstanding tactics and strategies in fighting. They locked in a tight fight, and a little inadvertence can cost both of their lives.

Everyone, hold your breath and don't blink your eyes in watching this duel.

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