Parliament has 'greater expectations' for a Democrat in the White House

Afghan MPs have publicly backed Barack Obama.

Although clear that, whoever wins, they expect little real change from Washington, the MPs said that they have “higher expectations” for a Democrat administration.

The unprecedented move by a majority of legislators comes on a day of fevered speculation over who Americans will hand the keys of the White House to.

For many Afghan’s, Obama’s heady mixture of supposed Islamic heritage – his middle name is Hussein - and his widely reported policy of ‘bombing Pakistan’ have proved attractive. The Republicans have also been viewed, historically, as a party friendly to Pakistan.

Publicly, the candidates both have similar plans for American operations in Afghanistan. Both back an Iraq-style ‘surge’ of troops into the troubled Tribal Belt straddling Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The mood in Kabul reflects international anticipation that Senator Obama will become America’s first mixed race president. Expectation has reached a particular fever-pitch in Kenya, Obama’s ancestral home.

Senator John McCain clearly has a mountain to climb and has spent the final days of his final chance to become president shuttling around key ‘swing-states’ which he must win to stand any chance of victory. Polls place him six to ten points behind clear favourite Obama, though pundits have been careful not to write off the 72 year old underdog who has proclaimed that ‘the Mac is back’.

His controversial running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, was today cleared of any impropriety in the ‘Troopergate’ farrago. She had stood accused of misusing her office to fire a public safety commissioner.

Senator Obama’s final days of campaigning have been marred by personal tragedy. His 86 year old grandmother died in Hawaii on Monday after a long battle with cancer. Madelyn ‘Tuts’ Dunham, like many other family members in Obama’s vivid biography, was often cited by the candidate as a key influence in his transcontinental journey to the threshold of high office.

“She was one of those quiet heroes we have all across America”, said a tearful Obama in front of an emotional crowd.

Yesterday, during the pre-speech prayers that have become ritual at American electoral rallies, Bishop Cornal Garnett Henning compared the Junior Senator from Illinois to “a Moses and a Martin [Luther King]” at a rally in Columbus, Ohio.

Obama has also received unsolicited endorsements from Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s controversial president and even the speaker of Iran’s Parliament.

Were Senator McCain to cause an upset and win, expect red faces in Parliament when he visits Kabul.

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