America Greatly Divided

The Republican and Democratic campaigns are running wildly opposite strategies, and the people have some difficulty in identifying the actual issues and discerning what is really at stake. In this article a young Dane (35) tells you how all of this appears when seen from a European perspective.

America seems greatly divided when seen from abroad. Republicans smear Obama, and seen from our side of the Atlantic it seems somewhat southern to depreciate the actual respect Obama deserves. Anyone running for as noble an office as President of USA deserves some respect. Respect for trying and respect for validating the American Dream.

What IS The American Dream?

For many of us, America is the frontpost of democracy. It is the land of opportunities – the country where you can rise from nothing to everything. Some, however, resented the thought of either a female or a black president. The TV-series “Commander in Chief” was interesting in that respect. I will agree fully that I didn’t want to see Hillary Clinton run for President. I feel she showed a lack of courage when she didn’t kick out Bill of their marriage when the intern-cigar-affair came up. Others feel she was forgiving and see that as a strong point. Politics are meant to create SOME division.

When that is said, Senator McCain is a bitter man. He likes to play his military career-card, but this career has left him callous to the affairs of the American people, and selecting Mrs. Palin as VP-candidate may be a signal of change, but it is a long shot from a Republican choice. She has GREAT difficulty in actually stating what her position is on abortion, and that hardly works well with the christian fundamentalists that insist upon clarity in that respect. Also, her knowledge of what the Bush doctrine is was lacking when she was interviewed for CNN….

So, all in all, it is an election where the people have great responsibility in whom they elect. Current foreign affairs policies seem rather off course when it comes to dealing with the Middle East. We Europeans dislike that ’cause it happens just south of us. We don’t want Iran to rock the boat too much if we can’t trust the US to give us proper intelligence.