Thursday, June 05, 2008

Baracking the Vote


Barack Obama is most likely walking with a lightsome step today as things are going politically with a hum. He has secured the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, an historic accomplishment that cannot be entirely attributed to his wife Michelle, however much I might like to do so.

I think it’s a bit easier to enjoy it from here in Europe: from the blogs, it sounds like people in the states are a bit sick of hearing about it relentlessly on the news. Admittedly, of course, you can actually turn a television set off, or so I’m told. It always surprises me when people will say things like “I’m so sick of American Idol” and then look bewildered when I reply, “I’ve never watched it.” Maybe I’m the weird one.

Over here, the scandals and mudslinging matter not a jot. There are far more important things to worry about, such as Carla Bruni’s new album. But there really is a surprising charge in the air about the Obama candidacy. The French are fascinated by the idea that there might be another side to the US after all. And as an interviewee put it in Le Figaro, the French still really do have a need to love America. It’s wrong to think they hate America; they hate Bush, which increasingly puts them in agreement with America. Besides, the sister Republics might fight like siblings, but they ultimately come from the same family.

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