Who the Hell Is Interested in the U.S. Elections Anyway?

[unhappycamper]

Who the Hell Is Interested in the U.S. Elections Anyway?
El Mundo, Spain
By Inocencia Arias
Translated By David McCafferty
11 November 2010
Edited by Alex Brewer

In our country, sometimes the USA, as we said a few days ago about Cuba, is a matter of national politics. Sometimes. Obviously when there is armed intervention by the American giant in some part of the world. The average Spaniard sits back and does nothing: if Russia intervenes in its zone of Chechnya, if genocide is committed in Sudan, people don’t just bat an eyelid; they almost ignore it. However, if Washington embarks on any kind of military operation, then it is time for protests, banners, public awareness and often anger…the Americans, the average Spaniard rapidly concludes — and we don’t mean the people from the entertainment industry — have caused this monstrosity “for oil and that is unacceptable.”

At a time of general elections in the States, Spaniards are not particularly excited, but our politicians are. And they are divided. In general terms, the left and the progressives want Obama and the Democrats to win. On the contrary, a large part of the conservative People’s Party members want to see the Democrats get a beating. Not only because they believe that that could affect what happens here but also because the shameless way in which President Zapatero has tried to appropriate himself of Obama has made the American unbearable to the center-right. Let’s get one thing straight: the understanding and identification in Zapatero and Obama’s points of view are a complete lie that was made up by fawning socialists, but the feeling, as usual, is that if my enemy praises something so much I don’t buy it.

~snip~

The reason, more so than the movement against the entire government or the disillusionment towards the political class, is the economic situation. Many columnists agreed with the harsh phrase of a young Democratic teacher, who said that in two years, nobody could clean up the mess that took eight years to make, but the voters on the street feel the bite of the credit crunch in their daily lives and, whether it is Obama’s fault or not, they are unsatisfied and disillusioned and they show it at the polls.

Obama now has more difficulty in dealing with:
- The end of the war in Afghanistan
- The reform of energy policy (pollution, cutting emissions, etc…)
- The ‘regularization’ of immigrants
- The expansion of the health system, etc…

And perhaps, less time to dedicate to the Middle East, the threat from North Korea or Iran (where it is believed a woman will die today for having committed the ‘sin’ of adultery) etc…