Obamamania

Aside from being a fun word to say - try it - it's happening beyond the US borders. I just read an interesting article that my Google news box pulled up on how the rest of the world is going crazy for Obama. I certainly find this is true here in Marburg.

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- The world made its preference clear for U.S. president long before the Democratic Party weeded out Hillary Clinton last week. ...Europeans consider Obama a hybrid of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, embodying the American dream and their own worldliness. ... Never have foreign media given so much air time and spilled so much ink over a U.S. primary race. And whatever Americans decide in November, foreigners would pick Obama in a landslide without knowing the details of his policies: a true triumph of hope over experience. ... (read the whole article here)

But while I doubt I'll end up posting on here who I actually will vote for - I do think it's interesting (but mainly irksome) living as an ex-pat and hearing other non-Americans talk about the US. People just love to tell me how terrible the US is. I've heard Europeans tell me how great Bill Clinton was as president and how they hope the next US president will be 'of his calibre'. But you know what? Ten years ago today I was doing my undergrad internship in Hildburghausen, Germany (Thuringia) and people then were telling me how awful Clinton was and how America was just stupid politically speaking. More than once during my 4 months in the Middle East did I tell people I was Canadian (I have dual, so it wasn't a lie) instead of American. Today people look at me and the first face they see isn't mine, it's George W. Bush's. Ten years ago they saw Bill Clinton's face. Makes me just love the media.

I don't want to sound arrogant here, just realistic, but word to the non-Americans out there: It's not all about you. ie - the US president is supposed to do more than care about foreign policy. The coin has two sides, meaning that domestic policy is also really important, especially when you consider that land-wise the US dwarfs most other countries in the world. There's way more turf to tend within our own borders than what the average country has.

Please think twice before you make blanket statements, especially about politics that aren't yours to a citizen of said country. Also - and maybe it's just me - but I think politics isn't the best way to kick off any conversation. If you're in Germany, pick soccer. Euro 2008 started and the flags are simply everywhere!