[i]What Do You Want to Know from Obama's German Fans?[/i]

Exactly what the average German wanted to know from Americans in runup to Merkel-Schroeder-palooza: [b]Absolutely nothing.[/b] We Americans have our own policy issues to hash out with one another.

Actually, I DO have a question: how many Germans get to vote in another nation's elections?

Can you fixate on only one of the candidates, call it "analysis" or somesuch, and keep any of your integrity with Americans? Nope. If an unhealthy partisan interest in our politics on the part of non-Americans didn't even wash with most Democrats in the past, it sure won't wash now.

Americans know full well that the more interest a figure gets from abroad with the express goal of wanting to be pleased, the more likely they are to NOT want to vote for them. We elect for our own interest first, as would any sane German. We turn on people who even appear to make themselves beholden to foreigners - especially if they're interest in it is to limit Americans' freedom of action, is their economic competator, and has a history of being duplicitous with the United States as Europeans do.

I mean can you imagine the reaction if there were a vocal group of Americans, including members of the press, out there thumping for Gysi?

Yes, It does matter how the President is perceived abroad, but this is a candidate, the interest is uneven, biased, functioning in the vacuum of imagining that they know who the winner is, and is entirely unprecedented in scale. It also indulges delusions that they have undue influence or should have undue influence over US domestic affairs.

Were anyone, even Europeans to take a slightly risible interest in a German election, save for the passing interest once it happens, I don't think it would be amusement - I think they would lash out at even three days worth of what the US is treated to permanently. Germans have always been paranoid about outside opinion of the society and state, and you know it.

Let's face it - the collective leadership of all of Europe would not get half of the interest, involvement, abuse, and naive support as Europeans are lending in the case of the US election.

If you knew much about the tides and turns of politics, both Clinton and Bush set out to dwell on a domestic focus only to have it change to an international focus within the first year. There is absolutely no way of knowing what Obama's rhetoric about what you think you can get from him in 2010. Nothing at all.

As for "having to prove something" by dealing with the wealthiest begging, nattering, and medding people on earth, there is absolutely no reason anyone should have to.

As for "negotiating peace in teh middle east" in the Levant, the Arab governments (outside of Beirut) don't want peace, and the Lebanese are basically under Teheran's thumb. In large part there is little to sit around a table and talk about without a change in the balance of powers.

In the gulf, we are not in a position where we should negociate until we are much less in a position of having to concede a great deal. The Iranian economy needs to wear down more, Iraq needs more time to solidify its' position, and in case you're wonder ing what the left want to do: it's to reverse any benefit possible by abandining the Iraqis, pretending to look like they're getting tough with Iran while they agree to not pressure them, and give the European concept a chance to fail.
While the Iranians continue to lead the EU-3 by the nose neciciating, they will build their nukes, complete their grip on Hamas and Lebanon, and put in place all the ingredients they need to threaten a 3rd world war using violence as leverage.
And THAT is the policy you're hoping will come out of the White House? Is there some deus ex machina set of events that they think will short circuit this without continuing the prolicy of creating a DISINCENTIVE to war by terroist proxy with the west?

And if "amusement" is all they're after, "fuck 'em". Let them wallow around in their empty little lives without us.
They aren't entitled to amuse themselves at the expense of the future of my country. If anything tells you that their criticisms are not to be taken as sincere, it's that very pattern of wanting to see an America criticised, seemingly degraded, abased, or whatever, for no reason other than the brandishing of their egoism which has a goal the diminution of the US while bemanding that Americans not discuss it, not criticise them, and help them do it.

Case point, the sidebar link about the predictably vindictive San Fransisco leftists wanting to rename sewerage plant after George Bush. Is the all there is to the depth of intellect of European IR grads? Are they trying to make tangible the transatlantic relationship by posting a celebratory hate-sheet like so many others we've seen that have ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN TO DO with IR?
Want to know what a random American passing along would take that for?:
- That there is no Europeean worth talking to, much less listen to who their favorite candidate is. Those they advocate are out of hatred of us.
- That if they support something, it's probably in your interest to investigate it's polar-opposite as an option.

Being about 15 years older than Jörg, I can safely make that assumption. As for policy focus changing soon after Clinton and Bush stepped into office: that's a fact that your effort to talk me down won't change, as is the German habit of worrying what opinions outsiders have of them.

If you did agree with the point about policy being overcome by international events, you didn't say it. I also don't see how my "talking down" is any different from the blind, zombie-like, near absolute uniformity of thought by the Europeans who take an interest in the US elections isn't seen as exceedingly worse and naive.

No, I arrived at that rather rationally when you said with a broad sweep that I was making a broad sweep. You will come to realize this when you read your own comment again.

Great. If Germans are going to get that goo-goo-eyed over a politician, any politician, let them then elect Obama as their Chancellor. In a great moment of orgasmic elation, they could also disband all checks and balances based on some false notion they have about his persona and background as the sole basis to vest absolute power in him, and wear pictures of him on t-shirts.

You can keep him.

As I said earlier, it DOES matter that we know what non-Americans think, but since Europeans are predatory economic competators using the power of government to advance corporate champions, and want the US to forever be in a position of begging them not to undermine Us policy, then what more would we need to know about their "vote" for US president?
.Take it as a reason to vote the other way, as their first choice would be to oppose what's in the United States' interest.

Simple as that. We have been listening. Mr. Obama is doing nothing new.