Dubai: US President Barack Obama’s re-election has elicited mixed views from UAE residents.
Jordanian-American Hamad Yousuf, 40, who works as a journalist in Abu Dhabi, had an optimistic view regarding Obama re-election.
He said: “I think that Obama winning is a better choice for the US as it is always best to not change a winning horse during a race. Personally I though he is the better choice because [Republican challenger Mitt] Romney did not appeal to me in a good manner, he was too conservative and he kept on changing his stand so I simply could not trust him’
In terms of US policies, Yousuf stated that “I hope that Obama will keep on working on ensuring that all Americans receive decent health insurance and services.”
However, in terms of the Middle East, Yousuf thinks Obama will stay out of Middle Eastern Policies.
“Obama did very little towards the Middle East, I doubt that he would change his track during the next term.” He said
UAE national Ahmad Al Kaitoob, 22, studying Business Management Administration at the American University of Dubai, said he was glad Obama won. He believes that if Romney would have turned out to be another George W. Bush had he won.
“I think that they are both bad in terms of their Middle Eastern policies. But I think that out of the two evils, Obama is the least evil.
“Basically if Obama wins he won’t do anything regarding the problems in the Middle East, which is bad but if Romney [had] won, he would actually get involved in a negative way which is much worse.
“I think that he would be as bad as Bush, especially [given] that he supports Israel, he would probably allocate more money towards their state and so make the situation for the Palestinians much worse.”
“In terms of how it is going to affect the US I also think that Obama is the better option as his focus is on education and health care while Romney’s focus is on rich people.” He added.
Meanwhile, 22 year old Zeina Mofti, a Syrian American student studying Interior Design at the American University of Sharjah, said she is happy with the results of the election.
“I did not vote because I missed the deadline and I am not really into politics but I must say that I was happy that Obama won. I don’t think that Obama is amazing I just think that he is the better option over Romney. I don’t know what to expect in terms of the US because as I said I do not follow American politics but in terms of the Middle East I do not think that Obama winning will have any affect because he remained relatively away from its problems.”
When asked about what would she like Obama to focus on this term she said: “I know that it is a long shot but I hope that he would focus on the situation in Syria as it seems to be getting worse and worse.”
