Sharma, whose book 'Barack Obama in Hawai'i and Indonesia: The Making of a Global President', is a rare analysis of the US President's early upbringing in diverse cultures and how it shaped up his global political outlook, also sees Republican rival Mitt Romney increasingly targeting the Conservative extreme in America to win the upcoming election.
The hysteria around his charisma and inspiring personality having relegated to the backburner, Obama is evidently having a tough time persuading weary Americans for a second Presidential term, given that unemployment and economy remain major issues.
In contesting his rival's record and grabbing populist eyeballs, outsourcing has become one of the devices for Obama, though its significance remains largely symbolic -- of political rhetoric to placate masses.
"Obama has said openly that he wants to retain jobs, this is partly political rhetorical device to rouse his base because unemployment remains high," says Sharma, who is Senior Fellow at Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Research, St Francis College, New York.
In India recently, the cultural psychologist, columnist and author told PTI in a conversation that the situation remains largely unchanged on the ground.
"If you look at the quota earmarked for offshore jobs, it has remained fixed at 65,000. It has not been changed. At lot of IT shops in India, managers have told me that despite the President's posturing jobs would continue to be outsourced because it is profitable for American companies," he says.
Romney's choosing young Conservative Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate surprised many, and Sharma sees it as a concerted or perhaps desperate attempt to consolidate the extreme Conservative or Tea party vote behind him.
Notably, Romney's campaign had reportedly shortlisted Louisiana's popular Indian American Governor Bobby Jindal among the probables for his vice-presidential mate.
But Romney went on to pick the relatively lesser known Congressman from Wisconsin over Jindal as also over former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. (More)
