There is a debate going on in the national press about whether Barak Obama will be good or bad for Pakistan. Personally, I feel the debate is purely academic because I see no chance of him getting elected as the US president. People in America may have initially opted for him as a presidential candidate, merely to express their anger and frustration with George Bush and his policies but when it comes to electing a president, I feel pretty sure they will go for a white man. -S.R.H. HASHMI, Karachi, via e-mail, September 12.