Iraq: "Obama couldn't care less about us"...

...so says Iraqi Pundit.

"..." by Baghdad Connect

Apart from the usual suspects, talk of the US Presidential campaign in Iraqi blogs is pretty thin on the ground. But that silence in itself speaks volumes. Neurotic Wife gets the reason from some co-workers:

I asked a few Iraqis, many did not seem to have interest in the US politics “We have enough of the Iraqi one let alone the US” in their own words.

The selection of Joe Biden as vice presidential candidate made some bloggers suspicious of Democratic candidate Barak Obama. Iraq Pundit opines:

Barack Obama's choice for vice president can only drag the country into ugly territory. His pick simply confirms his total disregard for the Iraqi people. All along, Biden has made it clear that he sees Iraqis as nothing more than savages bent on killing one another. His solution is to divide the country to stop the beasts from murdering the other beasts. He can argue all he wants that President Bush and John McCain are not nearly as smart as Biden is, but at least they will not abandon the Iraqis.

Nibras Kazimi adds:

Wasn’t Biden’s ‘intellectual’ heft supposed to be the whole point of adding him to the Obama ticket to balance out the greenhorn factor?

Iraq’s political class doesn’t seem to be buying it, though. They are not reassured by the Biden pick, whose name is forever associated, in Iraqi eyes, with a hastily-thought plan to divide Iraq

However, there seems a general preference for Obama among Iraqis. Fayrouz is smitten for her own fuzzy reasons:

It's not only hope that drives us to him as his opponent claims. It's how he put us on our feet to face the reality on the ground. It's his ability to make us believe in the "good America" that we always loved. It's the power of "we" instead of the power of "I" that drives people to him.

While Iraqi Atheist compares Obama to his favorite TV show. He writes "Season 4 of LOST is much more awesome. And even more awesome is Barack Obama." and Neurotic Wife asks Iraqis in the Green Zone to offer an opinion. She writes:

of the minority who did say they are curious, said they like Obama more. It was funny, cause one of the guys said in a very enthusiastic manner and I quote “No Macyeen, yes Bahama” Bahama? I thought to myself, is that a new candidate that I haven’t heard about, hmmm? It took me a few seconds to register he actually meant Obama, lol.