US Election From Abroad

It is difficult to watch a US election from another country without decent cable and a 14 hour time difference. Everyone looks either stupid, incompetent, conniving, deceitful or some other unattractive adverb - which most of them are.

My love of Bush hasn't grown in China, but I largely defend him in foreign policy - the only thing that counts to expatriates and foreigners. My defense does not come from some "my country right or wrong" idea. I think Bush took a bold assertive position on Iraq and Afghanistan, and I think it was the right decision. Yes that makes me a political pariah over here. I've only found one person who agrees with me, and he is Icelandic and can't vote. I've learned not to look for fights and only to give my opinion when asked unless the person is a close friend. Even then, I'm very careful.

Whether Bush has executed this war flawlessly can be debated. Perhaps because of earlier mistakes it will take longer to win. Perhaps it wouldn't have made any difference. The point is, his decision wasn't easy. He risked a lot in making it and standing by it and that is admirable. His education bill wasn't.

But in campaigns, some times the less said the better. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Pakistan at this time" should have been enough for any of the candidates. When you don't know what the hell is going on or what you are talking about and you're running for president, shut up.

Huckabee gets big bonus points with two good ones: "what impact does it have on whether or not there’s going to be martial law continuing in Pakistan" and "our sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan". The second is easier to dismiss as a mild misstatement. The first - read the papers man! Pakistan is a large pocket of hell for the US, and a place I think our next president should be very familiar with. Legend has it that Osama is hanging out in some Pakistani cave; it is a hotbed for Islamic radicalism; and that election could have made a difference given that Bhutto was purportedly in favor of eliminating Al Qaeda (although she was tight with the Taliban in a former incarnation).

It reconfirmed that Ron Paul is an imbecile too, but that didn't need reconfirming.