After more than three weeks in the US, the goings on in Pakistan seem at times distant and even inconsequential. Nothing monumental has happened during my vacation. The Ides of March came and went by once again and the PPP-led government is still in place. As far as Lahore is concerned, the only major news is that load shedding has become worse. Perhaps it is time to find a new minister of power and rename the present holder of that portfolio as minister of load shedding, an entirely appropriate designation in my opinion. And yes, the Supreme Court of Pakistan is wrestling with matters that are entirely inconsequential as far as the ordinary people of Pakistan are concerned. This, of course, is in stark contradistinction to the US Supreme Court that is presently considering ‘Obama Care’, a matter of vital importance for the future of the US. During the last few weeks, I had the chance to see the US election campaign for the Republican nominee for president a lot more intensely than when I was in Pakistan. As I look at those vying to replace President Obama, I cannot help but find some similarities between them and the major contestants for the position of prime minister of Pakistan in the next elections. Here I wish to add that when I think of the incumbent US president and the Pakistan political scene; there is one thing in common between President Zardari and President Obama. Both were elected with a serious majority of votes, both were initially very popular with great hope attached to their election, and both now suffer a considerable fall in public support. And the way things are, both could well be re-elected, not because of their record but rather the weakness of their opponents. Now to comparisons between other political players in the two countries. Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney seems to be the most likely Republican nominee. Romney and Mian Nawaz Sharif have much in common. Like Romney, Mian Sahib is a ‘businessman’ who, if elected as prime minister, will try and use his ‘business acumen’ to solve the problems facing Pakistan. Unfortunately, for Mian Sahib, he is essentially a ‘right of centre’ politician and he is being challenged by somebody who is even more right of centre than he is, namely Imran Khan. The same is true of Mitt Romney, who is being challenged by a candidate to the right of him, former Senator Richard ‘Rick’ Santorum. Romney will most likely be the one contesting against President Obama. In Pakistan, on the other hand, Imran Khan will still be in the running for prime minister and therefore could seriously dent the electoral chances of Nawaz Sharif and his political party. If the Republican primary process and the internecine fight goes on for a few more months, as it is expected to, Rick Santorum will deplete Romney’s standing in the polls and diminish his ability to compete against President Obama in the general election. The similarities from a political perspective between Imran Khan and Rick Santorum are quite astonishing. Both were electoral failures in the past but have developed a major new base of support among the ‘conservatives’ and religious types that oppose Obama/Zardari. And both of them are imbued with an exalted sense of ‘destiny’. The other players in the Republican field including Newton ‘Newt’ Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Ronald ‘Ron’ Paul, a libertarian, doctor and congressman from Texas, have virtually no chance of becoming the nominee. Interesting that unlike Obama, none of the Republican candidates use their given first names! Romney is thought of as the best Republican opponent to face President Obama in the election. During the Republican primary campaign, exit polls revealed that a significant number of Republicans think that Obama is not a Christian but is really a Muslim! Many devout Christians are equally worried that Romney being a Mormon is not really a Christian. For that reason, Romney has not been able to gain full support from evangelical Christian members of the Republican Party. The fact that Romney is a Mormon will in the election remove ‘religion’ as a political variable and that will perhaps benefit Obama. Here I must dilate a bit on the Mormon question. Many within the Christian mainstream believe that Mormonism is a ‘cult’ and not quite a part of traditional and accepted Christian theology. While discussing the present election campaign with a Pakistani-Muslim-American friend, he laughed and said to me, “But in the Pakistani context, Romney is a Qadiani!” He is right. Mormons, for Christianity, in the Pakistani context are not unlike the Ahmedis. And that made me realise how far the US has evolved as a relatively ‘secular’ society that their incumbent president is the son of a Kenyan Muslim and his leading opponent is a member of what many conservative Christians think of as a ‘cult’ rather than a part of mainstream Christianity. That brought me to an interesting point in my consideration of politics in my two favourite countries. Could I ever imagine a time in Pakistan when the president or prime minister would be the son of a Hindu, though now an avowed Muslim, and his primary opponent supported by the ‘conservative’ Muslim political parties a member of the Ahmediyya? Wow! Mature democracies eventually shed the question of personal religious beliefs and concentrate on political ideology and demonstrated competence as far as ‘governance’ is concerned. Obama’s record as president and Romney’s record as a businessman and a former governor of Massachusetts will be important considerations. Obama is a ‘liberal’ Democrat and Romney a ‘conservative’ Republican and what that means will require a separate discussion best left for another time. For now, I am rooting for Obama to be re-elected for after all Barack Hussein Obama and I share a part of our names! The writer has practiced and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs@yahoo.com