Real Clear Politics
I love the circus that is American politics. To someone coming from a country with another political system, the American elections seem more like a boxing match, then anything else. Having said that, I follow them and pay very close attention. Why? I live here! And while I don’t always agree with the way thing are done in the US, and because I am not a citizen I can’t vote, I still consider this my home country!
It’s fun to watch the news coming in on election day, there are constant updates from Fox, CNN and all other large media outlets. Even if there is nothing to report, they will make news out of nothing! Like the fact that the small town of Dixville Notch (opening their one and only polling station at midnight) was the first to announce election results. 15 for Obama, six for McCain. That will really influence the results!
It’s even more fun to see how foreign media reports on the US elections. While CNN is all about the numbers, it takes a Dutch newspaper to provide us with a list of where the candidates stand on major issues. It seems that the US media has all but forgotten about what politics should really be about, clear goals!
What really gets to me though is the hatred that seems to have cropped up recently. Maybe it was the rhetoric of Mr. Bush in late 2001, when he said “If you aren’t with us you are against us”, but where does the big division come from? I hear stories from friends who have their McCain/Palin sign stolen from their yards. True, I don’t agree with republican politics, but I don’t hate my friends because of their political choices! Another friend doesn’t dare put an Obama sign in the yard of his own house because he is afraid that the otherwise republican neighborhood will fire-bomb his property.
Don’t be like the democrat in a small Ohio town that had so much trouble not having his Obama sign vandalized that he electrocuted a kid from a republican family when he attached the sign to a 220 volts line.
But if I voice my support for the other candidate [WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE FOLLOWING] please do not tell me to shut the fuck up, go back to my own country or tell me you don’t listen to foreigners bashing your nation. This is my country! Get along people! Stop the hate…
November 5th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I’ve heard that some kids may be doing a “collect one of each” kind of thing, but I’m not buying it.
Anyway, of the 4 Obama signs I bought (those weren’t freebies, thanks), I have only one left, the other three disappeared. Friends suggested putting a camera in place to record what happens, in timelapse fashion and (jokingly, I’ll assume) taping razors to the edges! Meanwhile the signs across the street from us were left alone for weeks, if not months. Bah, humbug.
December 18th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
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May 27th, 2010 at 11:36 am
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