It started yesterday as I was driving home from work.
I live in Oslo, Norway, and I was a little late for dinner (as ususal). The announcer on the Morwegian public radio 24 hour news channel said they would be broadcasting the American NPR show called "Talk of the Nation" later that night.
This special edition of the show had been renamed "Talk of the World" because they wanted callers from around the world to call in and provide their thoughts and comments on the US elections.
Having followed these elections with a ridiculously high degree of interest, I decided to place a call to the phone number that the announcer provided.
So I dial the number, listen to the automated reply from the answering machine ... hear the beep ... and then I hang up.
I stop to think. I know that I'm terribly excited about Obama being elected, but ... do I have any worries? Are there things about the next four years that trouble me? Yes, perhaps.
So I dial the number again, and submit my comment. I praise Obama, then I raise the issue that I'm a little bit worried about protectionist US trade policies.
I get home. I have dinner. I sit down with my laptop and log on to the www.thedailyshow.com to watch the nov 5th show (which hasn't aired yet here in Norway). As I'm half way into the show, my cell phone starts ringing.
Hey! It's the NPR people! They thought my trade protectionism worries were original and they want to have me on! They say they will call back in an hour.
I ask if I may also say something nice about Obama, and the NPR woman grudgingly agrees.
Being a software developer I'm not your typical media person. I immediately start getting the shivers, and start worrying about exactly what I should say.
An hour later I get the phone call. I'm kept on hold for about 20 minutes and eventually during a segment with a discussion between the host and the former president of Mexico (Vicente Fox) I'm being phased in. Mr. Fox seemed more conserned with immigration, and - being a European - I have to admit that I really know very little about US-Mexico immigration issues or any of the reasons for being for or against renegotiations of NAFTA. So when the host says: "Here is a quiestion from Simen in Oslo, Norway" I just gave my short prepared statement which was the following:
First, let me commend the Amercian people on making a great choice in electing a president who seems so intent on promoting cooperation, collaboration and unity both at home and abroad.
I like that, and I believe the world desperately needs a MINDSET like that!
However, I've followed the campaign very closely and I've heard many variations of Obama's stump speech... and ... he's always returned to this mantra about protecting american jobs... and ..even while this may sound great in the ears of struggeling American WORKERS I'm a little worried that an Obama administration would set up trade barriers that would put an even greater strain on an already hurting world economy
That was pretty much all I got to say.
Looking over my statement I wasn't alltogether happy with it. It didn't really convey my feelings about the election. It didn't really communicate how I feel about the US or American voters right now.
I think - if I was given a second chance to voice my opinion to the entire world - that my statement should probably have been something like this
I'm very happy about how American voters decided in this presidential election, but there are still some things that I - as a Norwegian, a European, an outsider and a foreigner - completely fail to understand .... since they make absolutely no sense:
- How could the people of California allow the Mormon church of Utah to force through legislation that takes away basic personal privileges that affect only the lives those specific individuals (gays and lesbians) who enjoy said privileges? It makes no sense.
- How could the people of Minnesota's 6th district reelect a congresswoman (Michelle Bachman) who called for an expose of which members of congress were pro-american and which were anti-american? Days before the election she is verbally trashed by Colin Powell. Still she is reelected. It makes no sense.
- How could the people of Alaska reelect a republican senator (Ted Stevens) who was convicted of 7 counts of corruption a week before the election? It makes no sense.
You may have accomplished something great in electing Barack Obama, but there are still some very odd skeletons in your political closet!
That is what I should have said.