Stand-up comedians everywhere must be busy preparing new routines centred around Barack Obama becoming the next President of the United States. Among them is one of the funniest in the business, Dan Nainan. Nainan is known as the funniest Indian-Japanese-American stand-up in the country already (probably because he’s the only one). He was also at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, performing there. He’s best known for his great impersonations of former President Bill Clinton and the incumbent George W Bush. Now, he’s busy practising new lines about Obama (with some John McCain thrown in); some of which he shared with us:

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Manu Narayan first came to prominence playing the lead role in the Broadway show Bombay Dreams. He also appeared in Mike Myers’ recent film, The Love Guru. Narayan has another project brewing - playing with band. Right now, however, he’s excited about an Obama presidency.

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Sonal Shah is well known in the Indian-American community for her involvement with the non-profit Indicorps. She was earlier with Goldman Sachs, and is presently with Google.org. Now, Shah, who has been earlier also been with the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Obama-Biden Transition team.

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There’s prerty much unanimity among analysts of global affairs that either Barack Obama or John McCain would be good for relations with India.
Even from those who had already made their support for Obama fairly clear. Among them were Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria and former United Nations official and author Shashi Tharoor. The evening before the polls, Tharoor described Obama as a JFK-like figure and good for America’s relations with the world. Here’s Tharoor on the Obama-McCain question:

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That is, large numbers of Indian-Americans turning out to vote for Obama; at a ratio grater than they voted for John Kerry in 2004 over George W Bush.
Here’s the pre-election day report:

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Wasn’t between Barack Obama and John McCain. Indian-Americans on either side of the political divide gathered together recently to talk each other down. The event was organised by India Abroad and the participants included Democrats Toby Chaudhuri, Satish Poondi and Varun Nikore and Republicans Kishan Putta, Vijay Dandapani and Suhail Khan. Here’s a video of the conclusion (for a lot more go here):

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The majority of Indian Americans are likely to vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama in the US Presidential elections on November 4. That’s because the community has always been largely loyal to the Democratic Party. But about a quarter of them are also for Republican John McCain. But when it comes to the celebrities in the community – authors, actors, directors, artists, musicians – it appears that Obama has cornered all their support. Here’s a report:

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In an interview on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama says the US must work with the civilian Government in Pakistan and one of the ways to help them focus on countering terrorism is by resolving the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Here’s a long video, the relevant bite comes at around 5.30.:

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This report from a Minnesota television station requires little explanation:

UPDATE: In a press release, Minnesota State Senator Satveer Chaudhry had this to say:

State Senator Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley) today called on moderate voters in the Third Congressional District of Minnesota to reject a new attack ad against Democratic candidate Ashwin Madia that the Republican National Committee began airing this week. The race is targeted nationally by both parties and recent polls show Madia ahead or in a statistical tie, even outpolling Barack Obama.
Citing Elizabeth Dole’s ads calling her opponent “Godless,” and Michelle Bachmann calling Obama un-American, Chaudhary lamented the new low of character assassination, “Is there a recurring theme here? When a darkened effect is put on an ethnic minority’s face, the outcome is far different than any other negative ad, and they know it. These ads portray Madia as a dark, sinister intruder at best, and at worst a terrorist. It’s the race card.” Chaudhary stated.

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Right. And with Wall Street cratering, Barack Obama’s campaign has soared. And just like the majority of American voters, Indian-Americans are heavily trending towards the Illinois Senator because of thier worries over the economic future of the United States.

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