Politically Correct

I woke up this morning to realize that the first few days of November had slipped through my hands. Granted, I've been fairly busy the past few days hanging out in Osnabrück with fellow PPPlers Jesse and Dexter, playing a Lacrosse game in Mainz, hanging out with the guest brother in some pretty awesome shack in the middle of the woods, and finally watching the Panthers look like a shadow of what I expected them to be this weekend, but I woke up and it was November 5th.

 Fun Fact: 17/18 elections since 1940 have been "predicted" by the Redskins result on the Sunday before the election. Redskins lose, incumbent loses, so if you believe in superstition, be prepared to hear "President Romney" pretty soon.


 November 5th, that means in two days I will know whether we will still be on 44 or have moved on to 45 in terms of presidential electees. Where did that time go? It's really astonishing how quickly the flow of the 2012 Presidential Campaign has gone, but I'd have to say that from my perspective, this has been the most compelling race and not only because it appears that it's going to be close as all get out, but also because being on the other side of the pond, I don't have to endure the nonsensical political campaigning that would otherwise tarnish the (fairly unbiased) perspectives I have of both candidates' platforms in the 2012 reboot of "President Wars: The Republicans Strike Back"

Notice I said fairly unbiased.

It's Elementary My Dear...

Now being here in Germany, I can say one thing for certain. If Obama were running in Deutschland against Romney, it wouldn't even be close. Granted, this is from the fairly liberal perspective of students and my highly educated guest family, but I mean it's not even close. Everyone who I befriend asks me about the election, whether I've voted already, and if I voted for Obama. In that order, maybe sometimes they'll ask an intermediate question, such as "Where are you from in the US" or "What are you doing in Germany" but up through the election, I'm certain they will ask if I picked their horse in the race.

"In spite of everything: A Hero"

Which makes it very interesting to me to see the actual European perspective. We can drop all the rhetoric we want about having a bad international reputation, but I can tell you with 99% certainty that a great majority of my conversations over elections in Germany have implied a huge Obama slant. Of course this is a small sample size and doesn't correlate at all to the European attitude as a whole, but I have never quite understood why, even after some really appalling gaffes, Willard Mitt Romney had a puncher's chance at the clawing back into the election to the point that's been "too close to call" for a month now.

Why would Germans lean towards the more progressive candidate? No trick questions there.

The Great Debaters 

I only learned one thing from the debates that I was skeptical of before. Willard Mitt Romney is a well spoken, well prepared debater. The time difference made it really hard to tune into the debates without the rampant bile spewed by the media reaching me, but after watching all three the mornings after I say the result of the debates are as follow: 1) Romney win by large margin, 2) Obama win by very small margin (if only because he stopped the bleeding after looking like a zombie in debate one), 3)  Tie.


Presidential Debate Checklist:

• Point fingers, a lot of fingers
• Deny, slip around, or straight out ignore accusations against your person, party or beliefs
• Ad Hominem is your best friend
• Find the Straw Man, light him on fire
• Smile for the camera, look "presidential" 
• Do not lose your cool

Sure we can find some really great mouthpieces, (my new favorite pickup line is: "Wanna hop in my binder, baby? I can carry you all around the world with me." What do you think ladies?) but the fact remains is that I am not skeptical of Romney's intellectual prowess, nor am I skeptical of his track record as a businessman. The only problem I have, a foreseeable one at that, is that he wavers on some really critical points and that isn't something I am okay with.

On the other side, Obama has certainly not kept all his campaign promises (a ridiculous expectation from our populous anyway, in this bipartisan hell hole that we have created in recent years) and he should be held accountable for some mishaps in American government, Benghazi comes to mind quickly as a scab the opposition continues to press firmly against, but as an American citizen in Europe, I can tell you that international relations, at least in this area, would seem to be maintained "more effectively" with Obama in the White House.

He's loved overseas, come on, this is the same guy who won a preemptive Nobel Peace Prize just for being a brother in office. No need to sugar coat it.

So...who's it gonna be?

I honestly couldn't tell you. My heart says that enough people will mobilize and Barry will win a few critical states and stave off the fierce run that Mittens made during this campaign. My head says that all the polls are complete crap, and once people get behind the comfort of anonymity anything can happen and a liberally slanted media is not going to prevent Romney from taking home the crown. So...really, I can just tell you I don't know. I will be  surprised tomorrow evening, at around 2 AM either way. I just hope we put our country in good hands...I don't want to come back to mayhem.