E- mail scandal reveals hypocrisy of US elite
Hillary Clinton’s e- mail story has been updated. The US State Department said this week that it was reviewing nearly 15,000 unreleased e- mails that the FBI found when investigating Clinton’s use of a private e- mail server, and is preparing to make public those related to public affairs.
Clinton’s e- mail scandal keeps dripping. Her handling of national affairs through private server provoked a public outcry from the start. Republicans and others made other claims later. Clinton privately decided on the presidential candidate with Democratic top officials; money that Clinton claimed to have raised for the Democratic Party was used for her campaigns, striking a blow to Bernie Sanders; she manipulated the media and “review” the reports before they are published.
It was shown earlier this month that Clinton Foundation helped to introduce donors to the White House, and some donors have poor human rights records. Some accuse the Clintons of corruption.
There are only over two months left before the general election. Donald Trump and his Republican colleagues hyped the e- mail scandal and directly accused Clinton of committing a crime. However, the US elites and media in support of Clinton chose to play down the scandal or kept silent on it. The two totally different attitudes toward the severity of the scandals in the US have confused the outside world as to how serious the scandal is.
Outsiders have less to say over Clinton’s e- mail story when Americans find it so tough to cope with. The presidential election has revealed the shortcomings of the US democratic system. The US democracy is not as perfect as the outside world thinks, and Clinton seems to be resistant to all scandals.
It seems that US society is psycho- logically strong enough to cope with this.
The presidential candidates who have run into the final stage have obviously deployed their legal and illegal resources in the campaigns. Their key speeches sound sincere and appealing, and are carefully worded and recited. But there is a huge gap between candidates’ words and deeds, of which US citizens are aware.
US society is realistic. Many voters probably prefer neither bombastic Trump nor scandal- ridden Clinton, but eventually they have to choose one out of the two, without other options. Among all Western countries, the US is the most democratic, and its top politicians are the most hypocritical among their Western peers.
The US presidential election is revealing. Politicians are fully aware of the hypocrisy of the US democracy, but are still so serious in playing the political game.
Pragmatism originated in the US. The presidential election used to motivate the US to keep rising and pick up the best leader, but gradually candidates have learned to woo voters in elections and problems arise overtime. However absurd, the presidential election is a symbol of the US mechanism and will not be reformed. As long as the election system remains unchanged, other major reforms will be impossible in the US.
US politics is characterized by its rigidity. The tense competition between the two parties has determined that the country can hardly make any significant change. Competitors cannot count on a sudden decline of the US, but have to enhance their national strength to catch up with the US.