October 27

1. McCain Loses Concentration (Kompas 10/27, p.11; report by Simon Saragih, participant of the Emerson program)

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is losing his concentration. There is no consistency in his messages and he seems to have no other choice than attacking his Democratic rival Barack Obama. “At least, he feels that it will be difficult for him to win,” said Spencer Kimball from the Republican Campaign Solution in Boston, Massachusetts, Saturday (10/25). McCain is losing not only in delivering messages, but also in public appearances, including the debates. He did not appear calm even though he tried to look confident. “McCain appeared as an angry man, though he tried to calm himself down,” said Professor Derek Beckwith from Emerson College, Boston.

2. Love and Hate Relationship (Koran Jakarta 10/27, p.5; report by Tri Subhki Rahmatullah, participant of the Emerson program)

Peter Loge, a member of the Democratic campaign team in Washington DC, said, “Politicians and journalists have a love and hate relationship. They need each other, but they also hate each other,” he said. People like Loge need journalists as they have to promote their candidate. And journalists also need people like him because they have the access to information on the candidate. But, Loge sometimes hates journalists because he often gets questions from journalists or read their stories that talk bad about his candidate. And the journalists do not like politicians as they often give information not like what the journalists expected.

3. Beard and ‘Spices’ Problems (Rakyat Merdeka 10/27, p.1; report by Muhammad Rusmadi, participant of the Emerson program)

On July 3, U.S. Embassy’s Assistant Press Attaché Stafford A. Ward sent me a letter. He invited me to cover the U.S. election on several conditions, including making a personal statement. The program is jointly organized by the Embassy and Emerson College – a school of communication and arts – in Boston, Massachusetts. Before departure, we were briefed by the Embassy. We were told about tight security at U.S. airports and possible treatment by U.S. immigration officials. I arrived in Los Angeles, California. This is my first trip to the U.S. When I went to Germany a while ago, I was not so nervous and did not feel the need to trim my beard. Nor did I worry about my first name, Muhammad. Before departure, I checked with Stafford about this beard thing. He laughed, saying, “Why, do you think your beard is too long?” Finally I trimmed my beard instead of shaving it clean. On to the next problem: I brought Indonesian seasonings, or spices, in my luggage for a friend who is studying in the U.S. So when I filled the form at the immigration desk, I answered ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Did you bring any product made from animal?’ Then, when a U.S. immigration official asked me what animal products I brought, I mistakenly answered ‘kitchen stuff’ when I meant ‘spices.’ He then curiously asked what kind of ‘kitchen stuff’ I had. I offered to open my luggage. But fortunately there was a long line behind me and the officer just let me pass through.