India runs its democracy better than us." I never thought I would hear these words on American TV but an election expert said just that in the run-up to the US election. I was in America during the election week, but sometimes it felt like I was back home as debates raged about voter disfranchisement and intimidation, the inaccuracy of exit polls, money power and even electronic voting machines.

PICTURE SPEAK

Speaking to a cross-section of people before voting day left me confused about the prospective result as the electorate was deeply divided. A plethora of opinion polls could not predict a winner either. With no help from any quarter I decided to make my own call and am happy I got it right. Two days before polling I was sure George W. Bush would emerge a clear winner. I came to this conclusion not through scientific analysis but observation. Travelling through the country, I sensed the US's obsession with security. The people of the world's only superpower feel deeply threatened. Also, Americans remain conservative and inward-looking, evident in the way Middle America voted. Bush's campaign, especially on TV, brilliantly played on this insecurity. I was surprised to learn from media friends that the two candidates and supporters spent $1 billion (Rs 4,500 crore) on the media during the campaign. Security issues overshadowed a sluggish economy, tax cuts, social security and the mishandling of the Iraq crisis.

Our cover story takes an in-depth look at the US polls. New York Bureau Chief Anil Padmanabhan, backed by Assistant Editor Shefalee Vasudev in Chicago, Special Correspondent Ramesh Vinayak in Minneapolis and the Delhi bureau, analyses the impact of the Bush re-election on the world and on India.

All Texan swagger and homilies, Bush might not be liked in India but the truth is that he is better for our country than John F. Kerry would have been. He is not inclined to act against outsourcing or change his attitude towards India's nuclear programme. His obsession with the war on terror may work in our favour. With 51 per cent of the popular vote, he now has a clearer mandate than four years ago. The US may have been divided by this election, but with the lessons from his first term taken on board, Bush could now play the part of a unifier-both domestically and internationally. It would make for a better world.

(Aroon Purie)

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