The 2008 US presidential election contest has recently boiled down to three participants. Many Asians wonder how to assess them. One way is to look at what Asian American’s are saying and supporting. Senator Barack Obama, who is the frontrunner in most polls, grew up in Hawaii and probably understands Asian Americans better then the other presidential candidates. He is, also, a racial minority like them.

It seems odd, then, that Asian Americans favour Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
     
In the California, primary Hillary Clinton got the lion’s share of the Democratic Asian American vote. John McCain won the support of Republican Asian Americans. In New York Clinton got 86 percent of the Asian American Democrats’ vote. Overall McCain got 68 percent. This pattern is seen elsewhere. How does one explain this?

Senator Obama has made some gaffs. A member of Obama’s staff called Hillary “the Democrat from Punjab.” This angered some Asian Americans. Worse, Obama responded very equivocally to a question whether Asians should benefit from affirmative action (which currently hurts Asian Americans more than any other group, including whites).

Shortly after this former Delaware Lt. Governor S.B. Woo (a Chinese American) organised a movement to support Senator Clinton. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindall (born in India) came out in support of Senator McCain.Asian American parents loath the fact affirmative action excludes many of their children from top American colleges and universities. Opinion surveys among Chinese Americans show that this has long been their most disliked aspect of American society.

Asian Americans generally perceive that Obama thinks affirmative action should help blacks and to a lesser extent other less fortunate (financially) and academically underperforming minority groups. Asians don’t fit this mould.But it is more than this. Asian Americans note that Obama’s support base is largely very rich white liberal Americans and blacks, neither of which they identify with very well.

Another matter that strikes Asians is the fact that Senator Obama is the favourite of the media and Hollywood. Asian Americans see both as biased toward them--in their news coverage and how Asians are depicted on screen.They similarly observe that during his political career Obama has done nothing worth mentioning for Asian Americans. They say that Hillary has. Or at least the Clinton administration did. Bill defended Wen Hou Lee. He improved US ties with Asia.

Though most Asian Americans live in Democratic states and are wooed by the Democratic Party, they are by culture and political philosophy conservative, which is why they also like Senator McCain. In fact, most Asian Americans are Democrats, but in recent years they have voted more often for Republican presidential candidates.

Besides their penchant for low taxes, less government and family values, one reason for this is that Asian Americans view Democrats (certainly more Obama than Hillary) as advocating trade protectionism, which they see as anti-Asia. Senator Obama has spoken out strongly against North American Free Trade Agreement and bilateral free trade treaties, voting against them (one with Peru just recently). He also opposes giving the president the authority to negotiate open trade agreements.

Asian Americans similarly see the critics of job outsourcing (both Obama and Clinton, but more Obama), as hostile toward Asia. They know that Democrats get their voting support from unions that rail against allowing America jobs to flee, but they believe free trade creates more jobs. Senator Obama is best known in the realm of US relations with Asia for his lambasting China for its unfair surplus and his proposed sanctions against Chinese toymakers—which even other protectionist Democrats did not support.     

Asian American newspapers observe and report who is attentive to Asia’s success and its issues. One said recently that the presidential candidates had authored articles on their foreign policy views for the prestigious journal, Foreign Affairs. Senator Obama didn’t mention Asia until page 12, and then in the negative context of global warming. He gave little indication he realises Asia is growing in importance to the US. Hillary did better. McCain, who set forth clearly America’s goals and interests in Asia, did the best.

Finally, Asian Americans are aware of the important role the US has played, and still needs to play, in keeping Asia a secure region. Asia has engaged in regional and global commerce and has prospered because the US military has kept the peace in the area. Senator Obama’s hostile view toward America’s use of military power is not a good omen for Asia say a large number of Asians in the US.One has to conclude that Asian Americans are thinking more rationally than most Americans about their choice for president and that is why Senator Obama does not get as much support as the other two candidates.