American Politics

When American politics is taking an interesting turn, it is a bit hard being out of the country. On one of the morning shows here, an American journalist who is based in London said a recent poll revealed that Brits would vote for Obama 5 to 1. His life experience makes him more of an international figure which makes the world a lot more excited about watching this race.

I was asked by a friend here who caught some of the Democratic National Convention, particularly Michelle Obama’s speech, what I thought of her giving a speech. This person thought that the Brits who are a lot more cynical than we are would think that was all just a big show and it would really annoy them. I told them that first of all it’s part of the game. Every politician in the U.S. must do these things, including trying to paint the picture of a perfect first family. I also said that Americans also are cynical about that, especially when you look at the recent John Edwards situation. But I do think that most Americans (like me) like to have a cheerleader in front of them every once in awhile. Part of our culture, whether some would argue it is a myth, is the idea of the American Dream. We like to feel like anything is possible. After discussing this with my friend, I didn’t realize how unique that perspective is. In our heart of hearts, we know one man can't fix it all, but also in our heart of hearts, we don't want to give up that glimmer of hope that he might.