As the countdown to the US presidential race nears, and polls show very close results, Palestinians both at popular and official levels are more concerned about an expected change in US foreign policy than about who will win.
Whether the US will devote greater efforts to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and be more realistic and objective when dealing with Palestinian and Israeli affairs, is the major question the Palestinians need an answer to.
In this regard, observers in the United States do not expect major shifts in the country's foreign policy if the presidency moves from the Democratic Obama to the Republican Mitt Romney. "No major shift in foreign policy was felt after Obama took office succeeding George W Bush," said Ron Elving, senior Washington Editor at the US National Public Radio.
Elving's remarks came as he answered questions by journalists from 46 Asian, African and Eastern European countries at the US Foreign Press Center in Washington DC. The journalists were participants in the 2012 Election Embed Program funded by the US State Department's Washington Foreign Press Center and implemented by the Washington-based International Center for Journalists.
Answering a question by Ma'an's delegate to the program about expected changes in the US foreign policy after elections, Elving said that if Romney becomes president he will have difficulties in how to approach the Palestinian-Israeli issue. He also highlighted that Romney has close relations with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu from university days, and that may have an impact.
"I heard from people in the Obama administration that they regret they haven't focused enough on the Middle East peace process," added Bill Nichols, the managing editor of POLITICO, who also worked for over 20 years as Washington reporter for USA Today.
It is more likely that Obama would exert more effort to bring both sides closer together, he added.
Both Elving and Nichols highlighted that if Obama is reelected, he will be able to do things he couldn't do during his first tenure because he will be freed from electoral pressures.
Speaking of the probable outcome of the vote, some observers believe Obama's chances are better, but others say the race is really very close.
"Incumbent candidates have three-fold chance more than successors," according to Julia Clark, the vice-president of Ipsos' Public Affairs' polling and public sector. However, she added, Obama's incumbency advantage has been influenced by the economy.
She also pointed out that more people in the US identify as Democrats, but the Republicans are more interested in voting.
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