Politics Future and Past...And Events in Pakistan and Kenya

December 27th, 2007. Two things happened on that day...and are still happening.

• Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and current candidate for Parliament, was assassinated.
• Mwai Kibaki claimed victory in Kenya's presidential election setting off rioting by opponents who say he didn't legitimately win that election.

Does the world seem to be exploding? Or imploding?

Yesterday. The Iowa Caucuses. I don't know how important Iowa's caucuses really are in the grand scheme of things. They are, of course, important to those involved--Iowans and the Presidential candidates. But we still have a long time to go before our Presidential election and, frankly, anything can happen.

I'm amazed at people who already have Hillary Clinton as our next President. Have they not learned through previous elections that...anything can happen? Help me out here...I'm not recalling all the details. Do you remember:

• John Kerry hounded by the swift boat servicemen who contradicted his claims about his military service? (He lost his bid for President.)
• Dittos George Bush being hounded by those who questioned his service record? (He won his bid for President.)
• Was it George Bush who had an unnamed reporter ask him to name the leader of some country...and he failed to answer or failed to get it right? That question came out of the blue and was nothing more than an attempt to make him look bad, and most people saw that, but remember how much press it got? The other day Hillary Clinton said Pakistan's elections would have to be postponed because after Ms. Bhutto's assassination there would be no one on the ballot to oppose current President Musharraf. Uhhhhhhh...excuse me? President Musharraf isn't on the ballot--this election in Pakistan is not a presidential election; it is a parliamentary election and there are others on the ballot. But will Mrs. Clinton's political faux pas get as much press as Mr. Bush's did?

Well, anyway, such things can change the course of an election literally overnight. So can events in other countries, like Pakistan and maybe even Kenya. And, heaven forbid, we are not immune to such things here in the U.S. We've also experienced assassinations in our past, terrorist's attacks (and terrorists may well be behind the Bhutto assassination), and disputes over who won our Presidential election. Please tell me you remember Florida and "hanging chads."

Election day is a long way off. And in the mean time, anything can happen.

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If you would like to read more about the situation in Kenya and Pakistan, and how these situations are affecting Christians in those areas, here are two articles that will interest you:

January 3, 2008, article from Kenya:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2008/s08010024.htm

January 2, 2008, article from Pakistan:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2008/s08010017.htm

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. And the protection of our political candidates and our military personnel.